


No Brainer

by JakePeralta



Category: iZombie (TV)
Genre: Angst, Awkward Flirting, Crimes & Criminals, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Jealous!Ravi, Liv on multiple brains, Mentions of Previous Relationships, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2018-11-21 18:34:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11363226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JakePeralta/pseuds/JakePeralta
Summary: After Liv eats a particularly flirty brain, it sets off a series of events that bring Ravi and Liv closer than they've ever been.(Set after 3x11)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based after episode 11 of season 3, so there are some spoilers. I loved the season finale so much, I honestly think it puts this fic to shame with the Liv x Ravi stuff, but I wanted to write a fic anyway! Hope you enjoy!

As Liv came back into the morgue that morning, Ravi instantly noticed one thing before all else.

Liv was hungry. He could recognise it immediately. Her eyes weren’t focused, her feet seemed to drag. She looked anxiously around the room at see if there was anything to eat.

“We’ve got a body coming in later.” Ravi assured her. Liv flashed him a smile, happy he understood her. At that perhaps he’d go a little easy on her with the workload today considering how weak she felt.

“Good, for a second, I thought I was going to have to eat you.” Liv laughed, pushing his shoulder while he was sat in his chair, causing him to spin around.

“But then you wouldn’t get my surprise!” Ravi said, smugly grinning to himself. This ‘surprise’ had arrived yesterday and when he’d found waiting at home he couldn’t wait to show Liv the next morning.

“Ooh, please, do tell. If it’s good enough, I’ll let you keep your brain.” Ravi practically skipped over to the kitchen.

“I remembered seeing something the last time I was in England visiting the family that I thought you might like.” Ravi opened his bag. “Now, I know it’s not the same as brains, but… ta da!” He revealed a large red tub and Liv tried to act excited.

“Wow Ravi…what is it?” Ravi rolled his eyes at her, then realised the name of the product was facing his way so she couldn’t see. He flipped it around and Liv read the label.

“Chilli…hot chocolate! Ravi, this is awesome!”

“You see I recalled a conversation we had a while ago where a certain zombie was complaining that she missed chocolate. Thought this might be worth a shot.” Ravi went on to boil the kettle and get mugs out while Liv took his chair, looking like a kid of Christmas morning.

“Are you having some?” Liv asked. Ravi shook his head.

“This thing has 3 peppers on the label. I might like my spicy food, but I don’t fancy drinking it.” He pulled out another tub, this one being green. “Mint!” He sounded just as excited as Liv.

“Eargh.” Liv pulled a face. “Bet it’s like drinking toothpaste.”

“I can’t believe you eat human brains and still turn your nose up at things I drink and eat.” Ravi stirred in hot water and creamer to the drinks. He even took out one of Liv’s many chilli spices and sprinkled it on top of her mug.

Carefully, Ravi took both mugs over to Liv who had kindly pulled up a chair for him. He passed her the chilli one, tempting to take a sip just to see what it was like, but decided against it. If he wanted to try it, he could make his own.

“Thanks Ravi.” She smiled at him and for the briefest moment Ravi could have sworn they were just two friends, sitting and having a drink together. She didn’t crave brains, she wasn’t the ex-fiancée of his roommate and zombies didn’t exist. Everything was just normal for a moment.

Liv blew on the top of the mug to cool it and took a sip. Her face lit up. “Chocolate!” She exclaimed.

“You can taste it?”

“Absolutely. It’s just like I remember it. Rich, dark, amazing!” She took another sip and then looked up at Ravi. “Thank you, I needed a pick-me-up today.”

Justin and Liv and gone their separate ways a couple weeks ago, and Ravi couldn’t help but feel responsible. After Ravi had been used by Rachel so she could get a scoop for her story, Filmore graves decided that until they could handle the situation, the cadets were on 24-hour training. This meant Justin had come to say goodbye to Liv, saying it was probably for the best they didn’t see each other anymore. It also meant that they hadn’t seen Major in a couple of weeks, which both of them disliked.

Liv had really liked Justin, and Ravi couldn’t stop himself from feeling guilty. This woman had had a rough dating life and Ravi had gone and made it worse. Not only that but she’d gone through being shot, having her kind exposed and breaking up with somebody all in a couple of days.

“So, have you heard from Rachel?” Liv asked. Ravi tried not to look too mad at the name. He felt betrayed and foolish. He should have known better than to trust somebody about all this.

“No, and I’m glad I haven’t.” Ravi hadn’t told Liv that he had almost kissed the woman who had suddenly starting writing ‘zombie truth’ articles in her newspaper. Luckily, most people thought it was just a joke. People usually found a way of explaining things that made them feel better about life. Even when the truth was staring at them in the face, they could still find a way at night if it helped them sleep better.

“Good job hardly anybody believes her.” Liv commented. Ravi tried to act positive. With everything that had been happening recently, he didn’t know how long it would be before somebody slipped up. There seemed to be more and more zombies every day. Something was bound to go wrong.

“So, do you miss having Major around?” Liv said, sensing that Ravi would like a change in subject.

“I don’t miss his newest lady friend. The screamer.” Ravi joked. “But I do miss having him around. Do you?”

“Of course,” Liv said, and for a moment Ravi wondered if it was him that was gone, would Liv miss him that much? “But I wasn’t seeing that much of him before he went.”

“Why?” Ravi knew he shouldn’t push, but it was just so nice to have these moments with Liv where she was completely honest. She took another sip of her drink while she thought about it.

“I think… when Major was going to lose his memory, we became closer again. It was almost like I got to say a proper goodbye to him, something I couldn’t do when we’ve broken up in the past. I could be completely honest with him, and he was the same with me. Saying goodbye like that.” Liv paused and half smiled. “It felt like I was finally letting Major ‘the dream guy’ go. He’s not that person anymore, and I’m not the person he fell in love with. I think I was desperately clinging on to Major because he was the only part of my old life that felt nearly the same. My family won’t talk to me, my friends don’t know me anymore, my dream job is gone. Even Peyton treats me differently now.” Ravi took Liv’s free hand, sensing she needed a little support. “I wanted so much to be my old self, and I thought being with Major would somehow get me there. But when we said goodbye I think I could finally let that part of me go.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Ravi asked, and Liv nodded.

“In some weird, messed up way I prefer my new life. I like that I can help people by helping to solve murders. I love having a purpose. I like my new friends, and I even like this job.”

“Even though your boss is kind of a hard ass?” Ravi teased.

“Yeah.” Liv squeezed his hand and they remained silent for a little while. Both of them were realising, slowly, what Liv was saying. She was well and truly over Major. Ravi was trying to understand why he was quite glad to hear that. Perhaps because it meant less heart break for his friends now now. He wondered if Major had felt the same way.

“Is this what the old Liv was like all the time?” Ravi blurted out. “I mean, is when you’re hungry, how you used to be when you were human?”

“Huh.” Liv thought about her conversations and encounters with Ravi when she was hungry. When the brain she’d had before had almost entirely worn off. “I guess so. I always forget you never knew me before I was a zombie. I feel like I’ve known you forever.”

“I like zombie you.” Ravi said, really meaning it. “And it’s not that difficult to tell when how you’re acting is because of a brain. This Liv is always still there.”

“I know it’s been harder recently.” Liv admitted. “I fight the brains less now so I get better access to memories but I know I get a little lost in the brain sometimes.” Ravi brushed his thumb over her hand, wishing he knew what to say to reassure her that she was still herself.

“Am I interrupting something?” Clive asked loudly from the other side of the room. Ravi stared at him, frozen. Liv stood up, letting Ravi’s hand fall back to his side. If Clive hadn’t of smiled, letting Ravi know he was joking around, Ravi probably would have been frozen to that spot all day. He felt like he’d just been caught doing something wrong, when all he was doing was trying to comfort a friend.

“We’re just waiting on a body.” Ravi said, as if that offered some kind of explanation as to what they were doing. He started to drink his drink again, not wanting to say anything else. If that hadn’t of been Liv, he would have thought that Clive had just walked in on a ‘moment’. But it was with Liv, so that meant it was nothing. Just a friend talking to another friend.

“Yes, that’s what I came to talk to you about. Melinda. 27 years old, stabbed in the throat with a corkscrew so she bled out. Witnesses saw nobody enter or leave the apartment except her. The upstairs neighbour reported it after hearing a yell and a bang, but heard nothing else. Hungry Liv?”

“Absolutely!” Liv grinned. Things could be better, but at least she had a case and a brain to keep her going.

Ravi and Liv did busy work for an hour or so until the body arrived. The body was loaded onto the table and Ravi unzipped the bag. The victims neck was covered in blood, along with her brunette hair and parts of her clothes. As Liv got to work examining the body so that she could eat faster, Ravi looked over details of the crime scene, photos and the contents found on the body, which was a set of keys with 7 random key rings, a smart phone and a small bundle of change.

The crime scene showed nothing suspicious such as drugs. The pictures showed a small but cosy apartment. Very clean. The report said that finger prints had been wiped down but no blood at been moved. The screwdriver had also been cleaned, so it gave no indication of who could have done it.

“Looks like Clive is definitely going to need a hand with this one Liv.” Ravi said, and Liv got working on removing the brain from the body. Ravi got out the ingredients Liv had left in the fridge for her next meal. She made herself a stir fry, while Ravi ate the bagel he’d brought in for lunch, a little jealous of Liv getting to make a proper meal. He should make himself things like that more often, Ravi thought to himself. Just with less brains.

“Mmm.” Liv moaned as she bit into her food.

“Nice?” Ravi asked, and she happily nodded.

“Ready to go Liv?” Clive asked, coming down the stairs again about 10 minutes later.

“Give me some time to eat my food Clive!” Liv yelled out and Clive chuckled and then grimaced as he caught sight of Liv’s food. Unlike Ravi he wasn’t quite as comfortable with the eating brains thing. Ravi though Clive was disappointed he’d lost his physic sidekick and now had a zombie one.

“I’m going to wait in the car.” Clive said, heading out again. Ravi thought back to a time when he had similar reactions to Liv eating her food.

“Clive is so cute.” Liv suddenly blurts out and Ravi looks at her in shock. That wasn’t a cute-like-a-bunny-rabbit-cute that was cute-like-possible-love-interest-cute. “Don’t you think?”

“He’s somewhat appealing on the eyes.” Ravi said cautiously. “What made you think that?”

“I don’t know, he just looks cute. Is he seeing anybody?” Liv giggled like a school girl and Ravi finally clocked on that this wasn’t very Liv-like. But why would the brain she was on like Clive?

“You know he’s not, but I think this is the brain talking.”

“Don’t be silly, I know the brain when it affects me. Silly Ravi.” Liv finished the last of her meal and started washing up. “I just think Clive would make a good boyfriend. Or…” Liv lowered her voice “Lover.”

“Liv, think about what you’re saying.” Ravi asked her. He didn’t want to hear this about Clive, he’d never be able to look him in the eyes again. It almost seemed like Liv snapped out of a trance.

“Right.Brain. I’m going to go meet up with Clive now. See you in a couple of hours.”

Ravi watched her walk away and decided to shoot Clive over a message.

**‘Liv on lover brain, if she hits on you, don’t freak out!’**

 __

As Liv slipped into her seat next to Clive, she noticed how good he smelled. Really good.

She shook her head trying to keep herself thinking straight. These brains were pretty intense. Still, they tasted good. Or maybe that was the stir fry.

It hadn’t been better than the co-co though. She thought back to her morning with Ravi, it had been a lot of fun. It was rare she got much time with him now. It seemed like she worked less for him and more for Clive and the Seattle police homicide department. She did miss her times with Ravi, just them working away.

Clive greeted her and then checked his phone that had just buzzed with a notification. He glanced at Liv, smiled a little and then started to drive.

“So, Liv, any visions so far? Any hints at to the victim’s personality?” Clive asked, trying to keep himself from laughing.

“None so far. We’re heading to the crime scene, right?” Liv lied and tried to change the subject. Clive burst out laughing.

“Ravi texted me. Lover brain?” Clive couldn’t stop laughing as they turned onto the road where the victim lived.

“No. I just… the brain seems very… sexual.” Liv cringed at the wording.

“It’s okay, we can use that. We need to love for evidence of a current or previous lover that maybe she pissed off.” They both got out the car and Liv knew if she still had enough blood flow she would be blushing. She’d never considered anything more than friends with Clive. Not that she was doing that now, it was just more on her brain.  

She focused on her conversation with Ravi earlier. She needed to find better ways to still get visions from her brains without letting her personality get swept to the side. She missed the old Liv. The passionate and dedicated student who enjoyed the little things in life. Yes, these brains had opened her up for new opportunities, but she missed what Liv used to enjoy.

The pair walked up to the stairs and reached the victims door. Clive got out the spare keys they’d been given to get into the apartment and the rattle shot Liv into an intense vision.

_In the vision, Liv saw a very attractive man with swept over brown hair and stubble laughing at the victim, Melinda. He reached in and kissed her before handing her a little charm. It was a fish keyring, a little orange thing. Melinda reached into her pocket and placed it onto her keys._

Suddenly Liv saw 6 more men all doing the same thing. They all handed Melinda a keyring, and she added them to the keys. The 6th man who was of average height asked if she liked the keyring. “Yes, it might be my favourite.” Melinda said.

Liv snapped back out of the vision to see Clive staring at her, eyebrows raised. “Vision?” He asked.

“7 of them.” She got onto the phone with Ravi, telling him they needed to keep the keyrings as evidence. She also told him that they’d need access to her phone. Liv explained her visions to Clive, saying that it looked like the 7 men didn’t seem to be aware that the others existed.

“Couldn’t they just be her friends?” Clive asked.

“Two of them kissed her. The others all seemed to be very into her. I think they were past relationships.”

“Okay, we need to go check out the information with the neighbour who reported the incident. She might have seen men going in and out of the apartment. They swept the apartment first but found nothing out of place, no sign of a struggle. No signs of a boyfriend either.

They headed one floor down and a woman around 40 years old opened the door. Clive flashed his badge and she let them in, offering them both a hot drink. The two declined and they got to asking questions.

“I saw a couple of men, but I don’t know who her boyfriend was.” The woman, who was named Harriet, said.

“Why would you think she had a boyfriend?” Clive asked. He’d not asked her about a relationship.

“She had sex every day. It was never ending. I can hear everything!” Harriet complained. “I’ve been trying to sell this place for a couple of months and every time I get close that woman brings her boyfriend around and they go at it. Nobody wants an apartment where you can hear that. I certainly don’t. I had heard arguing recently though, maybe he’s the man you’re looking for.” Liv realised she’d been staring at Clive throughout the entire conversation with this woman. She placed her attention back on Harriet, cursing herself for letting herself get distracted.

“Do you know what they were arguing about?” Clive asked.

“I don’t hear words, just muffled louder noises. Yelling.” Harriet explained. “It’s a real shame though, such a young girl to pass away.”

Clive’s phone began to ring just as Harriet finished her sentence. Clive excused himself and picked up the phone. After a few brief moments, he hung up and thanked the neighbour for her time. Liv and he left quickly. “Who was on the phone?”

“Ravi, we’re got to get back to the station.”

__

They got to Clive’s desk to find Ravi waiting for them there.

“She kept her hands off you, didn’t she?” Ravi asked Clive, trying to tease Liv but she was too distracted as she went into another vision.

_“Keep your hands off her, Thursday!” A man yelled, shoving another man against an alley way wall._

_“Calm down mate, I’m not trying to step on your toes!” The other man assured him. He was broader than the other man, with black short hair and a crooked nose. Melinda tried to drag the more threatening man away from the black-haired man, but he was resisting her._

Liv breathed in, coming back into reality.

“I saw two men fighting over her in an alley. I think one of them was called Thursday?” Liv explained and Ravi jumped up.

“Ah! That’s what I was going to tell you. We looked at Melinda’s phone. She has 7 contacts that have romantically inclined text messages with the victim. In her phone, they’re called Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, up to Sunday.”

“The 7 key-rings!” Liv realised. “One man for each day of the week.”

“Her neighbour did say she had a man over every day. We just need to figure out who Monday is, he must be the killer, she was killed on Monday night.” Clive concluded.

Liv let her eyes stray to a couple desks over where a very handsome cop was sat filing papers. “Hello there.” She muttered to herself. Ravi clicked his fingers in front of her face, bringing her back into the conversation. “Sorry.”

“Focus!” Ravi told her.

“I’ll contact all 7 of the men to bring them into station. Maybe Monday didn’t like the fact he was one of 7.” Clive got to work and Ravi and Liv headed back into the morgue until they were needed. Ravi was enjoying more involved in the police investigation for once.

“$20 says that Monday wasn’t the killer.” Ravi offered Liv. She thought for a moment.

“You’re on.” Liv decided to trust in Clive’s judgement. Her and Ravi walked back down into the morgue to do some more work while they waited for the men to show up. “So, do you know that police men across from Clive?” Liv asked the moment they were there, and she knew the detective wouldn’t hear them.

Ravi sighed. “No Liv. Please don’t tell me you’re crushing on another man.”

“Crushing? Really Ravi, are we 12?”

“You’re the one falling in love with people left, right and centre.”

“What’s wrong with that? Isn’t it good that I want to spread love? Everybody has so much to give, why would we want to only be with one person?”

“Right.” Ravi started tidying up some the apparatus so that his work was done. He didn’t feel like he had much love to spread right now. He didn’t look at Liv, turning his back on her to try and make it obvious he was finished with this conversation. Liv didn’t get the message. Or if she did, she ignored it.

“Look at that, Ravi is jealous!” Liv teased and Ravi snorted.

“Sure, I’m jealous, that makes sense.” Ravi’s voice ringed with sarcasm.

“You’re acting jealous!” Liv defended.

“I am not. It’s not like you’re even interested in these guys. It’s all in your head, you just can’t tell the difference like usual.” Ravi winced at his own words. They sounded so cold, so bitter. They were cruel.

“What happened to you liking zombie Liv? I thought you could tell the difference between Liv and the brains. I’m still me you know.” Liv sounded hurt.

“So, you’re telling me you actually like Clive?” Ravi snapped.

“No! I just… you normally act like me being on brains is fun. But you always treat me the same. Why are you now acting like I don’t know how I feel?” Ravi was desperately trying to find the words to explain himself. He hadn’t meant it like that, and he hated fighting Liv. Especially when they’d been having such a good day.

“That’s not what I meant Liv, I just meant that you’re clearly on a brain and you’re thinking I’m jealous of you liking Clive. I just don’t want you to think that I think of you like that. Because I don’t, not at all.” Ravi rambled.

“Great, glad we cleared that up.” Liv sounded cold. Ravi knew that sounded awful, like he didn’t think she was attractive at all. Of course, that sort of thing had crossed his mind. Liv’s first day she walked down the stairs and Ravi thought she was beautiful, even in a weird, emo sort of way. If she hadn’t of been working with Ravi, he might have asked her out, but she was his employee. Yes, she was beautiful but she was off limits. Now she was a zombie crime fighter with a very messy history with his best friend and she was the best friend/roommate of his ex-girlfriend. To think of her as anything more than a friend would be crazy. “I’m going to go see if Clive needs me help.” Liv added, walking away.

“Liv, wait.” Ravi called out after her but she was already out the door. Ravi felt like a jerk. The only other time he’d ever been nasty of her was when she was being weird about him wanting to ask Peyton out. Ravi knew Liv didn’t think he was good enough for Peyton and that was fine. Peyton was her best friend, she was bound to be a little protective. And she’d been nothing but lovely about the situation ever since (Except when Ravi slept with his old boss, and even Ravi didn’t blame her. He had behaved awfully).

Ravi banged his head against his desk. Was he jealous?

No, he didn’t want Liv to like him in that way, but this brain seemed to take a fancy to every suitable guy it saw. Was Ravi that unappealing that even on those brains Liv didn’t find him even remotely attractive?

__

Liv left the morgue feeling deflated and annoyed. Through everything Ravi was the one person who always treated her like a human. He was the person who never acted she was a freak, and who embraced her personalities no matter what. And now he couldn’t even deal with a brain that made her a little boy-mad?

“Liv, I was just about to call. Are you okay?” Clive asked, seeing her approaching his desk.

“All the better for seeing you.” Liv said, then shook her head. “Sorry, I’m fine. Ravi is just being difficult today.”

“Hmm. You know he’s probably just looking out for you, right?” Clive commented.

“I don’t think so. He’s just not enjoying this brain…” Liv lowered her voice so nobody else could hear her say ‘brain’, “as much as my usual ones. Maybe it’s because it’s not that fun.”

“You kidding me? I’m loving it, it’s a real boost to the ego.” Clive chuckled. “Ready to go in and meet Monday?” Liv headed straight into the interrogation room with Clive close behind. The man sat down in there was stunning. Tall, dark-haired and jaw-droppingly handsome. Liv could feel the brain starting to take over as she spotted him.

“Hello Monday.” She purred, brushing her fingers through her hair and grinning. The man seemed a little too distressed to notice Liv.

Clive explained the situation, asking the man exactly where he was the time of the murder. ‘Monday’ or as he was more commonly known, Tim, seemed really upset as he explained his alibi.

“We had a morning date that day. She seemed fine, she was in such a good mood, she always was. Melinda had so much love to give, you know?” His voice cracked a little. “I was having dinner with my family that night. I left around one, I sent Melinda a text about half an hour later. She never responded.

Clive checked over his records. The last text Tim had sent was a ‘You up?’ text at 1:43am on the Tuesday. The morning of her murder.

“We’ll be checking that your family can confirm that.” Clive said, prompting Tim to write the numbers of the family members present on some paper. “Were you aware that Melinda was seeing multiple people?”

Obviously!” Tim said, seeming confused at the question. “We all did. I set her up with Rick, he’s my drinking buddy. He sees her every Thursday.” Clive checked his report and saw that Rick was indeed the name of ‘Thursday’. “Melinda was so loving. It was perfect. No commitment, just one day of week with an amazing girl.”

Sure enough, Tim’s story checked out. All the other guys knew exactly the situation. They seemed fine sharing Melinda, saying they all dated other women and it was a good arrangement. Clive concluded that Liv and him should consider other alternatives tomorrow, so Liv headed home for the day. She thought about going down to the morgue to see Ravi, especially as she now owed his $20, but decided against it. He hadn’t text her, and she thought sleeping and seeing him in the morning would be a better idea. Melinda’s influence made her wonder into what would happen if she went down to the morgue. Liv was being to realise just how much this brain loved drama.

Peyton was waiting with a glass of wine and cooking ingredients at home. Liv was the better cook between the two of them, so if they wanted to eat together, Liv would cook.

“You look like you’ve had a rough day.” Peyton points out as Liv takes the wine. It doesn’t taste like much, but it’s cool and refreshing. Liv nodded and started chopping up vegetables for dinner.

“These brains I’m on are boy mad. They’re after Clive. All 7 suspects we interviewed today. Random police officers.” She missed off Ravi from the list. His history with Peyton was so tricky already.

“Wow. Sounds rough.” Peyton sympathised. It’s like being in 8th grade again.” Peyton pulled a face at that thought.

“And I had a fight with Ravi.” Liv added.

“With Ravi? But he’s so unconfrontational.” Peyton pointed out.

“I know, he just… we had a really fun morning together and then was just weird with me in the afternoon.”

“You two will work it out, I’ve never seen two people who get on more than Ravi and you.” Liv thought about it and realised Peyton was right. Ravi was as good of a friend to her that Peyton was, and he was great. They got along so easily. He was the first person to know her secret, she trusted him with her own life. They’d saved each other’s lives more time than she could count.  

“Yeah, you’re right.” Liv smiled. “Everything will be fine in the morning.”

__

Sure enough, when Liv arrived the next morning a very sorry looking Ravi was waiting for her with a steaming mug of co-co in his hand.

“I was a jerk yesterday. I am so sorry Liv.” Ravi said and Liv hugged him and took the mug off him. Ravi put one arm around her, glad she was accepting his apology. “I just didn’t want you to get hurt again, not after Justin.”

“You weren’t wrong.” Liv admitted. “This brain loves drama secretly. I wanted you to be jealous of me liking the boys. Melinda used to do it with her lovers all the time. She’d tell them what the other boys did for her, hence things like the keyrings. They may have loved her, but she was playing them. I had a vision last night, she was always talking about the other boys to each other, making them jealous. They wanted to prove themselves to be the best.”

“Do you think one of the boys finally snapped?” Clive had told Ravi how far they were in the investigation yesterday when Ravi had gone to the station to find Liv and apologise. He didn’t want to do it over text.

“I doubt it. They all seemed to like Melinda. She was always honest with them, and they knew what they were getting into.”

“If they were seeing other girls they probably weren’t too fussed about her other lovers.” With that, Liv was shot into another vision.

_“Rick? Why Rick?” Tim was yelling at Melinda. His face was red_

_She shrugged, surprisingly calm with the situation. “I had a slot to fill. Rick is hot.”_

_“This is so typical of you!”_

Liv looked up at Ravi who was close to her, having rushed forward when she’d gone into vision to steady her mug. He knew all too well how much stuff Liv dropped because she’d gone into a vision. For a moment Liv didn’t care about the vision. She put it out of her mind. She maintained eye contact with Ravi who didn’t seem to be breathing. Liv moved her head the tiniest bit further forward, towards his face, and with that small gesture, Ravi shot back.

“What did you see?” he asked, his brows forming a tight frown.

“Oh. I saw Monday arguing with Melinda. He seemed pretty angry at her dating his drinking buddy.” Liv explained. She felt humiliated that she’d let the brain take over her again.

“You’d better go tell Clive.” Ravi gave her a quick smile then walked to the other side of the room.

“Ravi…” Liv began but he interrupted her.

“It’s okay, I get it. Brain.” He smiled again, and Liv tried to read his expression. It seemed pretty natural.

“Thanks for understanding. You’re a really good friend.”

“The best.” Ravi’s normal grin returned, putting Liv at ease.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The case of Melinda, the serial dater, thickens.

“So, you didn’t set Rick up with Melinda, did you Tim?” Clive asked Tim who was back in the interrogation room after what Liv had told him.

“I introduced them.” Tim pointed out, but he looked nervous. “Okay, no I wasn’t keen on them dating at first. I thought Melinda was trying to bother me. She was always doing something like that, but it was just what she like. It wasn’t just us boys either, she did it with everyone.”

“Enough to drive somebody to kill her?”

“I guess.” Tim shrugged. “Look, I was mad at Rick because he broke up with this girl he was seeing to date Melinda. They seemed good together. I figured he was making a mistake.”

“I thought Melinda let you see other girls?” Liv asked.

“She did, just not this one apparently. They had a problem with each other I think. You should talk to Rick about this.” 

__

“So, it’s not Monday?” Ravi asked, and Liv thought about it. It didn’t seem likely, but she also didn’t want Ravi to win.

“It’s still possible. I’m not paying up yet.” She picked up a box of supplies and passed it to Ravi who was loading them into the stock room. “What did you ever do before I was here to make your life interesting?”

“Cut up dead people. Play video games. Not find myself in life threatening situations every other weekend.” Ravi listed.

“That sounds like no fun at all.” Liv joked, lightly punching him on the arm. Their eyes met and Liv wondered whether or not she should bring up this morning.

“It wasn’t.” Ravi said, and he meant it. His life was significantly better now that Liv Moore was in it. Just as he about to express this sentiment to Liv her phone began to ring. She looked down, expecting to see Clive updating her on the case.

“Major!” Exclaimed Liv and picked up the phone. Major greeted her. His voice sounded the same as always, except for the reception on the phone was not fantastic. Liv put the call on speaker so that Ravi could join in too.

“Liv, good to hear your voice! How’s everything?”

“It’s all good. How’s operation zombie going?”

“Pretty good. I get shot at every day, but other than that it’s a breeze. I have to keep sneaking off to get food though. All they feed us here is brains.” Ravi grimaced. The idea of eating brains as a human was gross. “They’re calming down here, they think the paper thing might have died down by now. I think they’ll be releasing us within the next few days.”

“That’s great news!” Ravi cheered into the phone. It would be good to have his housemate back again.

“Just thought I’d update you. I should go now; phone privileges are rare. I had to trade 3 brain packets just for this conversation.”

“See you soon.” Liv said and the phone call ended when Major said goodbye. Ravi looked at Liv’s face, trying to guess what she was thinking. He couldn’t place her expression.

“Thinking about Major? Or the fact that Justin is coming home?”

“A little of both. I think it’s probably a good idea if Clive solves this murder before they get back though. Mr Freemans brain is looking tastier by the minute.” Mr Freeman was the name of a man brought in who’d been hit in a car accident. No foul play, but Liv was going to eat his brain soon just to get off this one.

“Good idea.” Liv smiled to herself, shaking her head. She didn’t know what a good idea was right now. Hitting on every guy seemed like a good idea. Flirting with Clive seemed like a good idea. Making out with Ravi in the supply closet seemed like the best idea in the world right now. Her body pressed against his…her hands running through his hair…his hands wrapped around her back pulling her towards him… all of that seemed like a good idea. A great idea in fact.

“Liv?” She heard Ravi say and Liv looked up, snapping out of her little daydream. “Where’d you go? Vision?”

It had felt like that. It was very vivid. “Yes.” Liv lied. “Nothing helpful though.” Ravi was disappointed, it did seem like Liv was eager to get rid of the brain, and visions would help her do that. Still, ever since earlier he’d liked this brain a little more. Clearly, he wasn’t the only guy Liv wasn’t attracted to on this brain. That made it a little easier to bear now that she was a little guy crazy.

“Have you heard any more about the Weckler case?” Ravi asked.

“If you want to ask about Peyton, you can.” Liv realised that had come about sounding a little harsh. “I don’t mind.” She added, her tone a little softer.

“I was just wondering how the case was coming along. But how is Peyton anyway?”

“She’s okay. Still recovering from Blaine being…Blaine.” Liv couldn’t think of a better way to put it.

“Yeah.” Ravi was still very angry at Blaine, even though he’d helped Ravi and Don-E out with the whole crazy-zombie-trackers. He couldn’t figure out if he was still mad at Peyton for choosing Blaine over him. Maybe a little. What Ravi knew for certain was that whatever Peyton and he had had, was gone. Things were too complicated. If they’d meant to be together they would have made it work sometime before.

“Do you think you’ll get back together with Peyton?” Liv blurted out before she could stop herself.

“And be second best to _Blaine_?” Ravi spat out the word like it tasted bad. “No. Peyton and I are done. She’s a lovely person, but we didn’t work. No common interests.” It was true. Peyton had disliked a lot of things Ravi liked, and vice versa. Normally they couldn’t agree on what to do when they were alone. They either went out to dinner or had sex. Now Ravi looked back, they were incompatible.

“Peyton shouldn’t have chosen Blaine.” Even on her boy-mad brain, Liv still hated Blaine. She felt like she’d been made a fool of. And he was the reason she wasn’t human now. He’d been selfish, only looking out for himself and his business. It made Liv sick.

Liv couldn’t wait for when Ravi figured out the cure again. She missed being human so badly. Still, she had no idea what she’d do with her life once she turned.

A message from Clive flashed up on her screen so Liv grabbed her phone.

__

“So, Rick didn’t tell her that he was seeing Melinda?” Liv was trying to catch up on Rick’s interview.

“No.” replied Clive as they walked into Melinda’s apartment building. “He had no contact with her after they’d broken up.” They walked up the stairs and stopped at the door. Liv knocked, and Harriet the downstairs neighbour came to her door.

“Detective. I didn’t expect you to be back. Has something happened?” She looked very confused.

“May we come in?” Clive, as professional as ever walked in before Harriet gave an answer, closely followed by Liv.

“Has something else happened?”

“Were you aware that Melinda was seeing 7 different men?” Clive got straight to the point. Harriet gestured for them both to sit on the sofa so they took a seat.

“Wow. I mean, I’m not surprised. I thought it was a couple, but not that many.” Harriet shook her head in disbelief, causing Liv and Clive to exchange a glance.

“Were you also romantically involved with Rick Duncan until recently?”

“What…? Why?” Harriet looked panicked.

“Rick began seeing Melinda after the two of you broke up. You didn’t know this?” Liv interjected. She hated that she loved this drama. The brain craved it, made her want to almost twist the knife in. She repressed the feelings. She was better than this.

“I didn’t. I didn’t even realise they knew each other.” Harriet crossed her arms, still processing the information. The room remained silent for a few moments.

“We believe they met in the building. And you had no knowledge of this?” Clive was analysing her face, trying to read it for lies.

“We weren’t that serious, I’ve only recently been divorced. We didn’t speak after the break up, I didn’t see anything online. I blocked him.” Liv shot into a vision, her grip tightening on Harriet’s couch.

_“I needed to see you! You blocked me, I couldn’t stand it!” A mystery man started yelling, chasing Melinda down her hallway. Melinda turned around to face him. He had ashy blonde hair, and a slightly crooked nose._

_“Get the picture Ian, we’re not together anymore!” Melinda yelled back, getting closer to her door._

_“I know you’ve replaced me, I saw you with him! What did I do? I can fix it!” The man was almost pleading._

_“Leave me alone!” Melinda snapped back. “I never want to see you again!”_

_Melinda got into her apartment and locked the door. The man was banging on the door now. “Melinda! Melinda!”_

_A voice came through, female this time. “Shut the fuck up!”_

Liv breathed again, focusing on the room around her. She registered where she was and processed the information she had just seen.

“How long has it been since you broke up with Rick?” Liv asked Harriet while Clive tried to get her attention so Liv could tell him what she’d just seen.

“A month or so.” Liv thought back to the 7 interviews. All the men had been dating Melinda for longer than a month.

“Do you remember hearing an argument about a month ago, between Melinda and a man? It would have been very shortly after your break up. You yelled at her to shut up.” Liv explained. Harriet thought over this.

“I… think so… I yelled at Melinda when I heard somebody yelling at her. I was upset, obviously, I’d gone through a divorce and a break-up, so I just wanted some peace and quiet. Like I said, she was a nightmare neighbour.” Harriet said.

Clive looked at Liv as if he was checking if she had any more questions.

“Thanks for your time Miss Jackson.”

__

Liv had just finished explaining to Clive her vision.

“So, you think this Ian man is the killer?” Clive asked. Liv shrugged.

“He seemed more upset than angry, but it’s likely.”

“We’ll see if anybody knows who this Ian man is. He’s probably still on her phone.”

__

Liv headed back down the morgue, practically bouncing. She felt good. They had an interview with this Ian tomorrow. They’d call up one of Melinda’s blocked numbers to find him. Apparently, he’s working tonight, so it was the earliest he could come in for an interview.

“Somebody is in a good mood. Did you solve a murder?” Ravi said when she walked into the room, grinning.

“Almost!” Liv beamed. “Or maybe I’m just happy to see my favourite boss.”

“You’re gonna make me blush.” Ravi teased.

“I never said it was you.” Liv said, her voice flirtatious. Maybe Melinda wasn’t so bad as Liv was making her out to be, she did have a lot of confidence.

“Oh, well if I’m not your favourite boss, I guess I won’t make you a drink.” Ravi nodded towards the newly boiled kettle and the chilli hot chocolate sitting there, ready to make.

“You know you’re my favourite boss for now until the end of civilization.” Ravi started making them both drinks, smiling to himself. He was surprising himself by flirting back. He knew it wasn’t real flirting, but it didn’t exactly happen every day for Ravi and he definitely didn’t hate it.

Ravi passed her the drink and Liv didn’t wait to take a sip. “Thank you.”

“Nice?”

“Want a taste?” Liv asked, and before Ravi could reply she pursed her lips. Ravi laughed nervously.

“Thanks.” He said, and took the mug off her. He sipped it, keeping his eyes on Liv who was still smiling away like she hadn’t just offered to kiss him. The drink wasn’t half bad. “A bit too savoury for me, but not awful.”

“This was a good end to the day.” Liv pointed out. Ravi nodded. He was glad they could leave this day better than the day before.

Suddenly Clive came practically running down into the morgue, looking distressed.

“Are you alright Clive?” Liv asked.

“Thank God I caught you two.” Ravi couldn’t imagine what would cause Clive to look distressed. The man who went overcover, the man who deals with drugs dealers, murderers and attackers daily. The man who knows zombies roam the streets. “They’re having a birthday party for Stephen upstairs. Please come to the bar, I don’t want to be left alone with these people.” Ravi resisted the urge to laugh.

“Why not just not go?” Suggested Liv, but Clive shook his head.

“It’ll be rude not to go. I forgot I said I’d go weeks ago. Come on, it’s just a couple of drinks. Free drinks.” Clive added.

“In that case.” Liv grabbed her jacket and joined Clive’s side. Ravi was more sceptical.

“You sure taking her to a bar full of police men is a good idea on this brain?” Ravi half joked.

“Sure. If anything, it’ll provide you two with a few laughs when I embarrass myself.” Ravi joined them walking out, quickly placing down his mug and grabbing his keys.

__

Funny wasn’t exactly how Ravi would describe it. Liv was a walking, talking, earth-bound goddess among these people. She must have gotten 5 numbers within the first half an hour of them being at the bar. Guys loved her, she was like a magnet to anybody that was attractive. Clive and Ravi sat at a table, watching her do her work. Clive kept joking that he should ask her for some tips, but Ravi knew Clive was still not over Dale, even though Clive never talked about her.

“We all having fun?” Liv said, coming over to the boys. She sat straight down on Clive’s lap, which Clive seemed most annoyed about. He tried pushing her off but she hardly seemed to notice, staying put.

“I think you’re having enough fun for all three of us.” Clive joked.

“I am having fun!” Liv exclaimed, not seeming to notice Clive’s dry tone. Or maybe she did and she simply chose to ignore it. “Stop being so boring.” But both the men could tell she was only really teasing them.  

“Maybe you should slow down Liv.” Clive suggested.

“Maybe you two should catch up!” Liv retorted, heading over to the bar to get more drinks.

“I’m going to leave before she ropes me in to some shenanigan.” Clive said. “Are you gonna stay?”

“Somebody has to keep an eye on her.” Ravi pointed out. Clive said goodbye and Ravi slumped back in his chair. He should have left, but he didn’t want to leave Liv by herself. She was having fun, but he wanted to make sure nobody bothered her and she didn’t do anything she would regret.

Liv came back over carrying a tray of three cocktails and 6 shots. She looked around for Clive and then rolled her eyes, realising he was gone.

“Guess these are just for us!” She cheered.

“You know this is a bad idea.”

“Those are the best kind of ideas!” The pair worked their way through the drinks, and Ravi didn’t remember much after that.

__

Liv walked in the next day with sunglasses on and a headache that felt like it could shake the earth it was so powerful. She looked around the morgue, but didn’t see Ravi.

“Ravi?” She called out, thinking maybe he was out back with the rats or something. She heard a groan from the kitchen and almost tripped over Ravi, who seemed to be taking a nap on the kitchen floor.

“I dropped my pencil. When I reached down to get it my body didn’t want to get up.” Ravi explained. Liv didn’t question it. She laid down next to Ravi, facing him on the floor. Luckily the morgue had to be kept pretty damn spotless so the floor was freshly washed.

“Do you remember anything from last night?” Ravi asked. Liv thought back. Drinking, dancing, partying. More drinking. Even more drinking. Dancing. Origami napkins. More dancing and then puking. Nothing after that.

“You can make swans.” Ravi chuckled.

“Yes, I can.” He laughed quietly but then shut his eyes, the laughing had hurt his head. “Last night was fun though. We don’t do things like that often.”

“I can see why this morning.” She pointed out. She paused, looking over at Ravi. It was so rare they were eye to eye, but height didn’t matter now they were lying down. She stared into Ravi’s eyes; his iris’ were such a dark brown that they could almost be black. They gleamed with the slightest hue of gold, flecked near the pupil. His eyelashes were long. His skin looked rosy and warm. She could feel the heat coming off him, she was so close to his body. It felt nice considering the coolness of the floor. His beard looked freshly trimmed, and his lips looked soft and tempting.

“What are you doin-” Ravi asked.

Liv didn’t consider what she was doing. She slid over the floor, placed a hand on Ravi’s arm and gently pressed her lips against his as he was finishing his sentence. Ravi didn't react. His lips moved maybe the tiniest of a fraction, and Liv wasn’t sure whether it was him trying to finish his sentence or not. She moved back, the kiss not even lasting any longer than a couple of seconds. Liv opened her eyes, her head still in a daze. Ravi sat upright. Screw that, he bolted upright. Pain shot through his body like he'd been impaled by 300 arrows, but he didn’t notice in the moment. 

“What the hell Liv?” He demanded.

“I don’t know.” Liv sat up to but the moment she did Ravi stood up and moved away from her. He seemed worried about being too close to her.

“You don’t know? That’s not something we do. We don’t do that.” Ravi was flustered. He had no idea what to say. “You shouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t have let the brain take over.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” Her voice was small. If she had listened to Melinda, and the impulses she was having right now, she would be yelling. She would be arguing in her defence, but Liv knew she couldn’t do that.

“I’m not interested in Melinda’s mind games.” Ravi stated, running his fingers through his hair, something he did whether he was stressed.

“I know. I wasn’t thinking. I should have controlled it, and it won’t happen again.” Liv promised. How could she have been so stupid? Kissing her boss. Kissing Ravi.

“Okay.” Ravi looked around the room. “I don’t have work for you to do here. Maybe you should go and see if Clive needs your help.”

Liv had to admit, it stung to be sent away like she’d done something awful, which she supposed she had done. She just hadn’t been thinking. She was lying nose to nose with a boy, her brain said to kiss him so she had. She wasn’t thinking about who that boy was, or what the consequences would be.

Ravi watched Liv walk away to go and find Clive, leaving him to ponder and process what had just happened. Liv had kissed him.

And he’d liked it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this one!


	3. Chapter 3

“You look like you’re already done with this day.” Clive pointed out, speaking a little louder than normal, knowing Liv would be hungover.

“You’re funny.” Liv giggled, and then cursed herself. She felt like Melinda was doing a victory lap in her head. _You kissed your boss. You kissed your boss. You kissed Ravi._ She hated her for it. Liv couldn’t help but appreciate the irony of the situation. Melinda had likely died because of the drama she caused when she was alive. And yet here she was, causing more of it beyond the grave. She knew Melinda would love it.

“I know. You don’t mention that enough.” Clive rolled his eyes at Liv jokingly. She smiled appreciatively. She was glad Clive didn’t take her too seriously, or treat her like a freak. “This might cheer you up.” He gestured to the interview room and Liv spotted who was inside.

“You figured it out?” Liv said in shock. Clive nodded.

__

Harriet sat nervously pulling at her sleeves as Clive and Liv sat down in the interrogation room.

“Mrs Jackson.” Clive started. “Or, should I call you Miss Lovelock? That was your maiden name, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.” Harriet agreed. She seemed confused.

“See, I spoke to a Mr Lovelock this morning. Ian, your brother. Who was recently romantically involved with your neighbour Melinda Southgate, is this correct?”

Her voice became very quiet. “Yes.”

“And this was until he replaced your brother in her circle with your boyfriend, Rick Duncan.”

“Yes, that’s what you told me.” Harriet pointed out.

“Yes, but I don’t think we told you first, did we Harriet? I think you told us the truth, that Rick never told you about dating Melinda. But your brother did. In his interview this morning he remembered telling you the day of the murder of Miss Southgate. He informed you that his girlfriend had moved on, and he’d found out who to. Your brother wasn’t aware that you were dating Rick, was he?”

“No.” Her voice was more a whisper.

“You already hated Melinda. Your divorce left you broke, stuck in an unsellable apartment because Melinda was a bad neighbour. Having found out she’d broken up with your brother and stolen your boyfriend you took a corkscrew out of your kitchen and you walked upstairs and killed Melinda. You waited, walked back downstairs then reported the incident to the police several hours later.” Tears began to fall down her cheeks as Clive was talking.

“She was ruining my life.” Harriet let out a sob. “She ruined everything she touched. Nobody was safe from her.”

Liv left the room, leaving Clive to get a full confession and to figure out what to do with Harriet. She almost felt bad for the women. Melinda had only been affecting Liv for a couple of days, but already she was ruining her life. Destroying her relationship with her boss and friend, risking her friendship with both Peyton and Major too. It was like Melinda had focused in on the one person in Liv’s life she could never be with romantically, because it was just be too difficult. Melinda knew the one person on earth that would cause mayhem for Liv to be with, and focused in on him.

Liv’s lips tingled, as if they were remembering before. She raised her fingers to them, tracing them lightly. How could things with Ravi go back to normal after this? How could explain herself? She’d never be able to look at Ravi again without wanting to shrink into a corner, humiliated.

Liv headed back down into the morgue. She had to do two things; apologise to Ravi and beg for forgiveness, and eat. She was sick of Melinda. Sick of these thoughts circulating in her head about Ravi. It just needed to stop.

“Liv.” Ravi said, shocked that she was back so quickly.

“Ravi.” Liv said back to him, freezing on the spot. Suddenly her confidence was gone. She had been rehearsing what to say, but nothing felt right now she was staring at his face.

“What are you doing?”

“We solved the case. The neighbour did it…” Her voice trailed off as she looked down at her feet, not being able to look at Ravi in the eyes.

“Oh. Okay.” He wasn’t sure what to say. He hadn’t stopped thinking about Liv since she’d left, but he thought he’d have longer to prepare something to say to her.

“Ravi, look, I don’t even know how to apologise for what I did. It was careless, and stupid and I was just… I was weaker than I should have been and I’m sorry. I don’t want to lose the friendship that we have. You’re too important to me. I…need you in my life. And not just as my boss, I need you as my friend. I just hope I haven’t ruined anything between us.” Ravi looked up at her. Her expression was soft. He smiled ever so slightly.

“You haven’t ruined anything Liv. I was just hungover and grumpy. I overreacted.” He joked, and Liv was glad he was acting a little more normal. “I need you too. Who else would these brains I just have _lying around_ go to? Just don’t do it again, alright?” Liv stepped towards him, wanting to give him a hug, but wasn’t sure if it was appropriate.

“Thank you.” She really struck gold with Ravi. Who else would be so supportive, genuine, caring and sweet while helping feed her human brains?

Ravi had always been the one that was okay with any of this zombie stuff. He guessed what she was, he helped feed her, he brought her brains when she needed to, he not only dealt with her mood swings, but he appreciated them. If only Liv enjoyed the brains as much as Ravi seemed to.

“You ready to get Melinda out of your system?” Ravi prompted her. Liv remembered the brain she had waiting for her, and decided she was too desperate to get rid of Melinda to care if she wasn’t hungry.

“I’ve never been so ready to get rid of a brain.” Liv headed to the fridge.

“Really? Because I’d take Melinda over the sociopath or the compulsive liar.” Ravi chuckled. Liv took out the brain of Mr Freeman, the victim of a car accident, from the fridge.

“Oh crap, I’m out of food.” Liv thought about it, she didn’t have any leftovers, anything to cook up the brain with. She couldn’t just have it plain.

“I can run and grab something.” Ravi offered up.

“I can eat it plain.” She argued, but Ravi wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“You cook up your brain, I’ll go grab up some pizza, you can use it as a topping. I have a real craving for pineapple.” Ravi was already grabbing his wallet and coat and heading out the door. Liv thanked him and got to cooking up her brains in some oil and chilli flakes she had lying around. Ravi returned about 20 minutes later, carrying two pizza boxes and a bag of something.

“Smells good!” Liv pointed out.

“One Hawaiian pizza for myself and one extra spicy meat lover pizza with extra jalapeños for you.” Ravi beamed, clearly pleased with himself.

“Ravi, you’re the greatest!”

They sat on the couch in the staffroom. The bag had contained some fries that Liv added more chilli too. She put the bits of brain on each pizza slice and devoured half the pizza without thinking about it. Ravi was having plenty of fun experimenting with putting fries on his pizza and trying to shove them into the crust. Liv was starting to feel more normal by the minute, slowly Melinda was fading, leaving her with a very mellow feeling brain. She was having no sudden flashbacks, no overwhelming feelings of guilt for a long unsolved murder, no anything. It was nice. She just had one thing playing on her mind. It felt like there was an elephant in the room.

“Okay, so was I your worst kiss ever?” Liv asked, once she felt the atmosphere was good enough that they could laugh about it. Ravi paused, seemingly thoughtful.

“My great Auntie used to have a bad habit of kissing me on the mouth as a way of greeting me at really special occasions. She did it with everybody. Bless her.” Liv snorted. “But I think yours just beats her. By the smallest of margins. Just because we’re not related.”

“I suppose that’s something.” Liv grinned. “You were my worst.” She laughed, throwing a fry at him. His mouth formed a perfect ‘O’ shape as he mocked being surprised.

“It was hardly even a kiss. Would you even count it?” Ravi asked.

“I would.”

“Really? So, if you and Major got back together, and he asked you to tell him about every person you’d kissed since you ended your engagement, you would list me?”

“Well he’d never ask that, and I wouldn’t tell him any of them. That’s my business. Besides, I told you, I’m never getting back together with Major.”

“You guys are gonna end up together in the end. Just wait till I get you human again.” Ravi looked down at his hands. He knew what Liv had said earlier, but he couldn’t help thinking it. Every time they could, Liv and Major somehow ended up together.

“Ravi, we’re not.” Liv dropped her tone, it was much more serious now. Ravi looked up at her, and she looked very decided.

“Why not?”

“Because things change. People change. I changed.”

Ravi wanted to say something, but he just didn’t know what to say. Why was he so determined to have Liv admit she would never let go of Major? He let his eyes flicker down to Liv’s mouth for just a second, remembering earlier. What would she have done if he’d kissed her back earlier? If he hadn’t had been so shocked, and he’d just…kissed her? He kept wondering afterwards, would he? If she was just a girl he worked with? If she was human? If she wasn’t the ex of his friend?

How many factors would have been different for him to have just kissed her back?

She probably would have hated him. She had the brain to explain her actions, Ravi didn’t.

The thing was, Ravi could have, once upon a time, seen himself falling for Liv. Hard. When he’d considered asking her out, he kind of imagined this Liv. Not the zombie, brain eating, crime fighter part, but a lot of Liv none the less.

He knew she was smart, organized, he’d seen it as she worked there. She was fierce, which Ravi loved. She knew what she wanted, and wouldn’t let people get in her way. She was incredible. Even with everything that had happened with her, she was still going. Ravi could have fallen so hard for her, and he knew it. He knew it now, after everything that Liv was not the kind of girl you’d ever come across again. She was a once in a lifetime kind of person, and he was eternally grateful to have her in his life.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Liv asked. Ravi blinked, realising he’d probably been staring.

“No reason, just lost in thought.” Ravi struggled to remember what they’d be talking about. “Who was your worst kiss then?” he asked, trying to get the joking, light atmosphere back.

“My first kiss. Olly Jarman. Lots of tongue, but still weirdly dry.” Liv shuddered thinking back. “You?”

“It’s never a bad kiss if I’m involved.” Ravi winked, then burst out laughing. “I’m not sure, it’s been a few years now since I’ve kissed anybody really bad.” He grabbed another piece of pizza, enjoying the conversation.

“Who was your first kiss?”

“Her name was Cindy. It was a beautiful moment. Such a sweet girl.”

“Really?” Liv stared at him in disbelief.

“No, I nearly threw up I was so nervous. It was horrible.” They both burst out laughing.

“Didn’t you think you’d have it all sorted by now?” Liv asked. “I mean, wife, car, job, everything perfect? Nothing left to sort out of have to worry about. No zombies, or drugs or murders.”

“Nah. I always knew I’d end up eating pizza on a couch one day.” Ravi teased. “Never thought it would be in the company of a beautiful woman though, my 16-year-old self would be freaking out right now.”

“Thanks Ravi.” Ravi looked up, spotting movement outside.

“I was talking about Major, don’t be so egotistical.” Liv snapped her head round and spotted Major behind them, looking very confused. They both stood up and went to join him out in the morgue.

“Hey guys!” Major looked like he was trying to figure out what was going on. He was eyeing up Ravi, who knew he was acting guiltier that he should be. He just hadn’t expected Major to be here. After he’d just made that comment to Liv. Not that he’d meant it in a romantic way, it just felt weird saying and then having the ex-boyfriend walk in.

“Major!” Liv looked back at Ravi as she walked and hugged Major. He looked like he’d just gotten back from the retreat.

“It’s good to see you man.” Ravi hugged him too, still feeling his heart racing, like he’d been caught doing something. This is your friend, he reminded himself.

“You too, haven’t burnt the house down while I’m gone, have you?” Ravi laughed. “Been taking care of my girl?” Major placed his hand on Liv’s shoulder and Ravi felt a pang in his chest. His smile wavered for a second, but he composed himself.

“She’s been taking care of herself.” Liv looked appreciative of his answer. Ravi tried not to think about what would have happened if Liv had been around Major when she’d been on Melinda’s brain. Would they have gotten back together? Would she have kissed him instead of Ravi?

“Is that pizza?” Major peeked in to the little set up they had going on.

“Yeah, I was on a pretty bad brain, I needed a new one fast.”

“You’re welcome to have some of mine.” Ravi offered, knowing Major was probably starving.

“Thanks man!” He rushed forward to grab a slice of pizza and Ravi and Liv followed him. Going through the doorway, their arms brushed and Liv could have sworn Ravi jumped away like he’d been electrocuted. He was acting weird.

Maybe he felt uncomfortable around her after earlier. She still didn't feel as though the situation was solved.

Liv has assumed that any feelings she’d been feeling towards Ravi would disappear after Melinda had. But she still couldn’t help thinking about him. About the fact that situation had felt like a date. Not a first date, or even a date in a new relationship. It had felt like they’d been dating forever. She could just be herself, eat pizza, enjoy herself. There was no pressure. It was comfortable. When he’d complimented her, it almost felt…like he was feeling it too. She couldn’t stop staring at his lips. If she kissed him again, what would happen?

He’d hadn’t exactly stopped her earlier. What if she’d tried again? What if she hadn’t of stopped?

“Hey, I’m just gonna steal Ravi for a second.” Liv said to Major, who seemed more interested in the pizza. He nodded and Ravi followed her, looking at her, confused.  She pulled him into the kitchen and stared at him for a moment. She thought of all the things she could ask him. About the kiss, about their situation.

“Don’t tell Major about earlier, yeah?” She finally said.

“Why not? He’ll probably laugh.”

“Exactly… I don’t want him to laugh at me, or think that there’s anything going on.” Liv phrased herself very carefully. “I mean, I kissed you, that can be interpreted in certain ways.”

“It was nothing. Major wouldn’t care.” Ravi didn’t want to keep it secret. Telling him meant it was funny, it was an anecdote. Not telling him made it a private thing.

“Maybe not, but he might tell Clive, or Peyton. Suddenly it’s a bigger deal than it is. It was no big deal…right?” Liv whispered.

Ravi paused. Of course, it was a big deal. It was a significant event, just because of the context. A pair of friends kissing is a big deal. “No. Of course not.” Ravi whispered back, very aware of how much space was between him and Liv right now. Not a lot. Not enough. Not a normal amount. He could smell her shampoo. If he wanted, which he didn’t, he told himself, he could lean forward and they’d be kissing. Or at least if she wanted to they would be. Liv was experiencing similar thoughts as she stared into his dark eyes. Ravi snapped out of their shared trance first.

“Fine, I won’t tell him. Let’s not make something out of this.” He stepped back, and moved back to the other side of the kitchen. Liv relaxed. She looked back at the staff room just after Major had looked back at his meal. He’d watched the exchange, and was now trying to put things together. He didn’t understand what was going on. They both went back to join him and acted totally normal, so Major tried to put any thoughts of anything out of his head. Still, he could tell something was up. He just wasn’t sure what. He was about as clear on the situation as Liv and Ravi, who were now both just assuring themselves that a good night sleep would clear their heads.  

 


	4. Chapter 4

A good night sleep may have cleared their heads, if they had gotten one. Liv, who sleep wasn’t too much of a necessity, poured over the past few days in her mind. Ravi did the same, tossing and turning in his bed, mainly trying to convince himself not to feel guilty about betraying Major.

Liv, who would normally be keen to get back to work, found herself dragging her feet the next day. Even on this relatively normal brain (minus the cravings for tuna and the odd dramatic dreams) a day at the morgue felt a little like she would be throwing herself into an awkward situation. Upon realising she would be late for work anyway, she picked herself and Ravi up a bagel in order to explain her delay.

Ravi looked at the clock for the seventh time. Liv was 7 minutes late, and Ravi had begun to worry. What if Liv was freaking out about the situation and was going to avoid him? Why had she not called or texted? He thought they’d cleared the air yesterday, but what if Ravi had made Liv mad in some way? What if she was on her way to tell Major about what had happened, and she mentioned that Ravi had agreed not to tell Major?

“Hi Ravi.” Liv said coolly from behind him. Ravi jumped, then tried to get up so it looked like he wasn’t spooked. He failed, but Liv chose not to mention it. She held up the bagels, apologising for the queue. This was a common reason for either one of them being late, so Ravi didn’t mind. He was mostly just relieved Liv was acting so normal, and that she had showed up.

Placing his paperwork to the side, Ravi decided breakfast was a good plan. Liv started asking him a bunch of questions. How was his morning, how was his night, how was his commute. The moment he answered one question, before he got a chance to ask one back, Liv would fire off another one.

When she finally stopped asking questions like her life depended on it, Ravi started munching on his bagel, then realised Liv wasn’t eating her normal everything bagel.

“Is that…tuna?” Ravi asked, grimacing.

“Yeah, I’ve been really craving it. This brain used to be a fisherman and he’d have tuna all the time. I figured maybe it I had some, the visions would stop every time I try and eat anything else.”

“I hate tuna. I don’t understand how you can eat it. It even smells gross.”

“It’s not so bad.”

“Coming from the mouth of a women who eats brains. Be sure to have a breath mint after you eat that.” By the time Ravi realised what he was saying, the sentence had already left his mouth. He froze.

“It’s not like I’m going to be kissing anybody _today_.” Liv joked. “I mean, I already kissed you and there’s nobody else around here as all our other colleagues are dead.” Ravi chuckled as Liv gestured around the room.

“Oh…You’re _dead_ serious I see!” Ravi replied, trying to keep the situation light.

“Don’t be such a _stiff!”_

“You are just _drop dead_ hilarious!”

“People are _dying_ to hear my jokes!” The pair couldn’t continue for anymore as both of them were laughing too much. Ravi stared as Liv uncontrollably laughed, noting how it lit up her whole face. She was so vibrant. He chuckled, sitting back up straight and trying not to sneak another glance towards Liv.

He felt like a teenage boy again, with some stupid crush on one of the popular girls who would never notice him. Sneaking glances, daydreaming, not having the courage to actually talk to her. Ravi knew he didn’t have a crush, it was just… complicated. He was trying to sort through the situation in his head.

Of course, he cared about Liv, and thought she was beautiful, but it wasn’t romantic. Ravi just figured that the kiss had blurred some lines between friendship and other stuff. Hell, it would happen if anybody kissed him. Ravi was sure he’d be having the same reaction if Clive had kissed him.

Whatever way he was feeling, Ravi was sure it would fade. However, that didn’t stop him from stealing a few more glances at her wide smile as she calmed down.

“Man, this stuff really does smell. You weren’t wrong about me needing that breath mint.” Liv continued munching on her bagel, and got the urge to start asking some questions. “So, you’re still fine about not telling Major?”

“I mean, yeah. If you still are. Best not to blow things out of proportion.” Ravi reasoned.

“What would you tell him exactly?” Liv wished she’d shut her mouth.

“What?”

“I mean, would you say ‘Liv and I kissed’ or ‘Liv kissed me’ or ‘Liv and I accidentally bumped mouths’ or ‘Liv came onto me’?” Ravi couldn’t stop himself grinning at the last question.

“So, that was you coming onto me?” Ravi was loving her slip of wording.

“No!” Liv loudly protested. “No! I wasn’t meaning anything by it. Even Melinda wasn’t thinking anything after it. I think she just picked the worst person for me to kiss so to cause drama.” Liv rolled and her eyes and didn’t see the flicker in Ravi’s smile. The smallest of reactions.

“The worst person?” He kept his tone calm, but it stung a little.

“You know, the guy that would cause the most drama if I were to kiss. What with you being Peyton’s ex-boyfriend and Major’s roommate and my boss. I mean, it’s pretty much a disaster waiting to happen.” Liv half-heartily laughed and Ravi tried to join in. He knew it was true. He told himself it didn’t bother him.

“Good job it wasn’t a real kiss then.” Ravi pointed out. He finished his bagel and threw away the paper wrapper. “Do…do you want a hot drink?” Before Liv could answer, he headed into the kitchen and started to fill the kettle. Liv considered for a moment that Ravi seemed a little off, but she put it down to just being an awkward situation. He turned to her and smiled, waiting for her reply. She nodded and thanked him. She placed a mint in her mouth and threw away the rest of her bagel. Food that wasn’t drowned in hot sauce didn’t exactly taste like anything anyway.

“This must be your most chilled out brain yet.” Ravi said, and Liv agreed.

“It’s nice to have a relatively clear head for once. So, what do you consider a _real_ kiss?” the question was blurted out so fast Liv wondered for a second if she had been the once to ask it.

“Oh. Well. You know, more than a few seconds. Both parties participate. Between two consenting people that aren’t related.” Ravi listed the things off as he made the drinks. “Why? Is the criteria different for the undead?”

“No, I was just wondering. Maybe I thought that was your kissing technique, to remain perfectly still.”

“Yes, it’s how I get all the women into bed. By not doing any work, not even moving my mouth.” Ravi chuckled. “I was just shocked Liv. I never thought we’d do that.” He gestured to the both of them, wondering for not the first time since this conversation started, why they were having this conversation. Liv was wondering the same thing, even though she was asking the damn questions.

“Me neither. I still feel awful.”

“Don’t. Like I said, it was nothing. It was the brain.” Ravi passed her a mug and Liv absent-mindedly blew on the top of the liquid to cool it.

“Obviously, I wouldn’t tell Peyton.” Liv said, and Ravi gave her a pointed look.

“You can tell Peyton. It wouldn’t bother me.” Ravi considered this for a moment. No, it wouldn’t bother him. If he had to deal with the mental image of Blaine and Peyton kissing, maybe Peyton could experience the same with Ravi and Liv kissing.

“Huh. I always thought you two were so happy together. It’s weird seeing things so… final between you two.” Liv thought back. Now she thought about it, she hardly saw them together. Ravi didn’t talk about Peyton that much at the morgue, only to mention if he would be coming over. Peyton didn’t talk about Ravi a huge amount either. If they had really been so god together, why did Peyton run away?

Why did Liv always think they were so blissfully happy together? Maybe she loved the two of them so much she didn’t realise they might not feel the same about each other. But they were both so easy to love.

“Not really. Like I said, no common interests.” He shrugged.

“Except sex.” Liv said quickly. “How was the sex?” Ravi almost spat out his drink. He coughed, trying to clear his throat. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Liv slammed her hand over her mouth, hushing herself.

“Liv, was this brain by any chance a nosy person? Because it’s felt an awful lot like the Spanish inquisition arrived since you’ve gotten in this morning.”

The pieces fell together in Liv’s head. “Yes! Oh, yes, he was a huge gossip!” Liv recalled some  of the dreams she’d had. Enactments of stories Mr Freeman had heard and then pictured. They made sense now. It was like dreaming up a soap drama.

“Just try and keep the questions PG, okay?” Ravi smiled sympathetically. “See, I can always tell if you’re yourself.”

Before Liv noticed what she was doing she slipped her hand into his which was laid down on the counter top. Ravi didn’t react for a moment. He thought about pulling his hand away, then decided that his friend needed a little bit of comfort. He relaxed his fingers so they gently curved around Liv’s skin. His skin looked so full of colour next to her white, nearly translucent skin. Her fingers were delicate. Ravi was always so surprised that such a fearless, strong woman was contained within a body that appeared so fragile. It seemed like such an odd combination. Ravi could see how unfrightening Liv would look usually, but her gentle nature wasn’t so obvious with the faked emo-look. Nonetheless, her cheeks were rounded, her eyes were large and she had such delicate features. It was hard to imagine those eyes could turn red and she could become a killing machine. Suppose that was quite helpful.

“Thank you, Ravi.” She sighed. “You seem to be the only one.”

“I’ve just known for the longest. These things take time.”

“Not with you. And you never even knew me before I was a zombie.” Ravi, like Liv, often forgot this fact.

“I’m just glad I know you now.” Ravi pointed out. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly let it close, not quite knowing how to say it. He took his hand away from Liv gently. He hadn’t noticed her skin was so cool. Not cold, like a corpse, just cool. Liv’s eyes flickered down to her hand. She frowned ever so slightly, also unsure of what to say.

“What are you thinking?” Liv finally asked, letting Mr Freeman’s brain lead her. Being a little nosy could be beneficial right now.

“That I should get back to work.” Ravi said, not moving. “That I was lucky that you choose to apply for a job in this morgue. That I’m happy I figured out your secret. That I wish I’d found a cure already because it’s not fair you’re still living like this. That…I’m thinking of a lot of things.” His voice was gentle. He recited the list so easily, these were things Ravi thought about a lot. “What are you thinking, nosy?” Ravi added the playful little nickname, knowing the question wouldn’t have been asked had Liv been on a different brain.

“That I’m glad I work here and that I know you’ll find a cure one day.” Ravi thanked her, wishing he had not let go of her hand because he wanted to be holding it right now, physically reassuring her that he would cure her. Ravi was determined.

“Liv...” Ravi trailed off. He sighed, knowing once again he couldn’t say what he wanted to say. “We should get back to work. Drink your drink before it gets cold.” Ravi smiled, and moved away, picking up his paperwork. Liv nodded, and starting disinfecting surfaces and looking over plans for the next few days.

It was unusual for Liv and Ravi to have a day where both of them were in the morgue simultaneously for the entire time. Normally, Liv would be off running to places, or Ravi would be out on a job, or one of them would have a half day.  The day went by smoothly, the pair worked in consideration of the other, but not directly together. Liv did what she had to do, speaking often to Ravi about issues in the hospital, about filing or anything else. Ravi popped out for lunch and bought back some for Liv. They both ate it close by, but didn’t talk about much other than plans for the week. Neither acknowledged the morning conversation but they weren’t acting any different.

This went on all week. With Clive working a case that didn’t require Liv because it was all simply collecting evidence to solidify a confession, Liv was free to go about with Mr Freemans brain, enjoying the simplicity. She kept her questions PG and didn’t do anything other than maybe gossip a little more than usual. Luckily, she knew Peyton and Ravi were both pretty big lovers of gossip (although they would both deny it to their graves) so it wasn’t abnormal behaviour. Liv had a great week, it was nice being so consistent in her life. Having a daily routine with the same people may have sounded boring, but to Liv it was a vacation. No drama, no nothing. No news from Blaine or Justin. She bumped into Major once, spoke to Clive a few times, and it was pleasant. Spending time with Ravi in the morgue was fun. They ate lunch together, made up little office games. Liv found herself returning to a relatively normal state around him, although she would feel a little more flustered whenever he would do something nice or touch her in any friendly way.

Liv dropped a knife when examining a body because Ravi’s hand lightly brushed her neck. He’d told her to relax, she’d had some fluff on her neck and he was getting it off. He touched her arm when passing her, something he did on occasion and Liv would notice it much more profoundly. It was like she was just very aware that Ravi was there, all the time. It wasn’t in a bad way though. Liv tried to remember how often Ravi touched her before; pats on the shoulder, brushing on the arm, a little bump with his shoulder, things like that. She couldn’t remember how often he used to do it, so she couldn’t tell if he was doing more of it now.

Ravi had slowly adjusted to having Liv around and feeling normal. He still found himself replaying the kiss again and again, seeing if he could figure out anything he hadn’t before. Trying to really accept what had happened, so he could move past it and not feel so guilty about it. Living with Major meant he thought about telling him often but never did. Liv was right, what would he say?

Weirdly, Ravi found himself studying Major in more detail, comparing the two of them. Ravi was not as athletic as Major, and couldn’t help but note that appearance-wise, the two couldn’t look less similar. Ravi had never wanted to look more like Major, but he found himself struggling to think that Liv could find him attractive if Major was her ideal man. He was doubting if Liv had even been flirting him with at all in a genuine way. Perhaps she had seen that Ravi was a little frustrated that the flirting had not been directed his way despite it Melinda being very flirty with most men, and Liv had taken pity on him. Maybe she was faking, and the kiss was her taking the situation to the next level.

Ravi hated that he was thinking his way, over analysing, especially when himself and Liv had been having such a good week in the office together. They really worked well together. He never got annoyed by her being there more than usual. He thought he would eventually want alone time, but being around Liv wasn’t draining or difficult. It was just pleasant. Ravi even found himself being more affectionate. Complimenting her occasionally, trying to be give her more physical contact in a friendly way and trying to do nice things for her. She would return the favour, being nice or picking him up a coffee.

A week after the ‘incident’ Ravi and Liv found themselves in the kitchen, having a chat. It had been a nice, calm week, so the work was mostly completed and neither of them was stressed.

“So, you’ve had a good week being Mr Freeman?” Ravi asked. Liv considered this for a little while.

“Nicest week of zombie-ism I’ve had. Shame the brain is finished.” Liv had been feeling hungrier on this brain, probably because she was always around it, what with being in the morgue. It was like having a tempting bar of chocolate in the cupboard. Liv couldn’t resist adding some to most of her meals, and it meant the brain went faster than normal. She didn’t mind too much, she could go a few more days without a brain.

“It was fun while it lasted. I won’t miss the questions though. I think you could tell me my aunt’s star sign by the end of this week.” Liv had been very inquisitive.

“Leo, obviously.” Liv joked. “Certainly, better than Melinda.”

“Yeah, Mr Freeman didn’t want his tongue down my throat.” Ravi raised his thick eyebrows.

“Oh, and Melinda did?” Liv was shaking her head, _the cheek of him_ , she thought.

“Please, I saw the way she looked at me. It’s all in the eyes. She wanted me, bad!” Ravi wasn’t sure if he was pushing the joke a little far, but Liv was still smiling.

“You saw what you wanted to see.” She retorted.

“Maybe I did.” Ravi saw Liv’s smile drop to seriousness. “I didn’t mean… that’s not what I meant.” Ravi explained.

“Yeah! No, I know.” Liv agreed. “I didn’t think that’s what you meant.”

“I mean, I didn’t even kiss you back, so…” Ravi continued to ramble, wishing he could shut up.

“And you saying that I wanted to?”

“No! Not when you were thinking straight. Obviously. You would never. We would never.”

“We would never _what_?” Liv wasn’t annoyed, she was just…unsure of the situation and didn’t think it could get much worse.

“Work! We would never work.” Ravi blurted out. “It’s like you said, we’re the others worst possible person to date. Not that I would want to do that.” Ravi was getting needlessly defensive, but he couldn’t help it, he was trying to explain himself and get things back to normal. “I mean, come on, you’re a _zombie_.” Ravi regretted the words as soon as he’d said them. Liv looked like she’d been slapped in the face. Her eyes started to water, and she turned away, ready to leave. She could understand Ravi not wanting to be with her, or not wanting to kiss her, but for that to be the reason? Ouch.

“Yeah. I’m _just_ a zombie.” She said bitterly, and tried to leave. She neared the staircase.

“Liv, wait, please.” Ravi said, and she heard the footsteps behind her. Ravi gently pulled on her arm, spinning her around to face him, and he dipped his head towards her own. She closed her eyes, her body instinctively reacting to what was happening. His lips found hers, and his arms wrapped around her shoulders and upper back, bringing her body close to his. She didn’t freeze like he had done, even though she wasn’t expecting it, her mouth moved with his, her arms found his neck and pulled him tighter. His beard brushed her chin, his skin felt hot, his hands felt strong. Liv didn’t think to breathe, she wasn’t thinking about much at all. It was as if the world had fogged over and Ravi was the only thing she could see in the haze. His thumb brushed her right cheek as he pulled his head away. They both opened their eyes, looking into the other persons and trying to read them. Ravi felt a rush of reality sweep over him. Panic entered his system, taking away from the intense feeling of pleasure he had just experienced.

He didn’t back away quickly, instead Ravi calmly stepped back, removing his hands from Liv's body and standing upright again. His eyes remained locked with Liv’s. 

“You’re not _just_ anything.” Ravi said, his voice a little unsteady. He nodded once, as if bidding her farewell, then turned his back and returned back to the centre of the morgue like he expected her to leave. Liv remained where she was. Processing. Thinking. Imagining. She’d asked a lot of questions this week, but now she only had two.

What the hell had just happened?

What the hell was going to happen now? 

 

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Liv left. She turned and ran, leaving Ravi standing alone in the morgue.

Ravi looked up the second he heard her footsteps go up the stairs.

He began to freak out almost instantaneously. He slapped his hands against his cheeks and then sunk down to the floor, starting to tug at his hair as if he could pull the memory out of his brain by doing it. He soon stood up and started to pace around the morgue, letting his mind run wild.

“Oh God.” He muttered and then repeated the phrase again and again.

He was an idiot, he thought to himself. He was the biggest idiot ever to grace the planet and he should just move to Finland and become a sheep herder whilst living in a cave away from any sign of civilisation.

There was no way out of this. He had well and truly fucked up.

He began to consider moving jobs. Surely there would be a morgue somewhere in need of a morgue examiner.

Liv was having similar thoughts, except she knew she could never leave her job. And Ravi could never quit, because then she wouldn’t be able to fight crime with Clive or get her brains. Ravi let her get away with murder (some might argue literally) in her job, and he practically did the work of two people so Liv could use her zombie abilities for good.

She tried to be rational about the situation. This is what she knew.

Firstly, Ravi had kissed her. Yes, she had definitely kissed him back, but he had instigated the kiss. That was something, at least Ravi couldn’t exactly blame her for everything.

Secondly, it had happened after a conversation where Ravi had stated that they would never work for multiple reasons. Perhaps that meant he’d been considering them being…together? It meant he’d must have at least thought about it.

Thirdly, it had been a _really_ good kiss. Like, a fireworks-exploding, celebrations, earth moving type kiss. Liv tried to remember the last time she’d had a kiss like that. She wasn’t sure she had before.

Next, Liv listed all the things she didn’t know.

Firstly, why Ravi had kissed her. Did he want to be with her? If he did, why walk away so quickly? Why not just tell her? Why kiss her directly after saying that they’d never work together? Why had he not just kissed her last week, or said anything since then? Why now?

Secondly, if Ravi did want to be with her, did she want to be with him? Was Ravi a person she could see herself with? Yes. Did that mean that they should be together? No. There were a million reasons why not to be with Ravi. Major. Peyton. Justin. The list went on.

Thirdly, why had she walked out? That was the stupidest thing she could have possibly done, now Ravi will think she doesn’t want to talk about anything or she didn’t want him to kiss her. If the past week had been any indication, it was that Liv really liked Ravi. And that she certainly liked Ravi enough to kiss him.

Melinda had opened her eyes to Ravi and everything she felt for him, yet Liv hated Melinda for it. Things were already complicated enough, Liv didn’t need more confusing feelings rolling around in her brain. But here they were, and it didn’t seem like they were going any time soon.

_

Ravi was staring at his phone constantly. He couldn’t get any work done, he was just focused fully on the screen hoping it would light up with a message from Liv. It didn’t matter what the message said, it just needed to happen. Whether it said “that kiss was great” or “never talk to me again” Ravi just needed some kind of answer. He’d put himself out there, and it was killing him not to know what was going to happen. Whatever Liv said to him, he would deal with, he just couldn’t stand the unknown.

He kept picking up his phone and starting to type a message and then deleting it.

**‘I’m sorry’** was too short. Not descriptive. Accurate, but didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what Ravi was feeling.

**‘Please don’t be mad at me, I wasn’t thinking’** Partially true but didn’t even begin to explain what was going on.

**‘Let’s just pretend that didn’t happen’** Not what he wanted, but had to be considered as a valid option.

Nothing felt right, and Ravi knew he wouldn’t even be able to talk to Liv face to face. He’d probably be far too nervous, he’d get his words muddled, say the wrong thing and just be a complete disaster.

“Hi.” Liv said, coming around the corner.

Damn.

“Liv.” Ravi replied, looking up at her and then he realised he didn’t have something at add to that.

“Sorry for running off.” Liv took one step closer, still halfway across the room. She seemed to be avoiding looking straight at Ravi. Her eyes darted nervously around him, but never stayed in one place for too long. Her arms were wrapped around her just below her chest like she was trying to make herself as small as possible.

“Sorry for…making you feel you have to leave.” Ravi winced at his phrasing. Finally, Liv looked directly at him. Ravi took a small breath in, preparing himself for the worst. Liv gave him a little smile. A small glimmer of hope settled in Ravi’s chest. It was warm and comforting, giving him a little reassurance.

“We…We should probably talk about what happened.” Liv said gently. Her voice was steady. It didn’t exactly sound like she was trying to be overly sympathetic. It didn’t reflect any emotion. It was making the situation very difficult to read.

Liv focused on Ravi’s face. She wanted to say so many things to him. That she’d enjoyed the kiss, she was glad it had happened. Liv had walked into the morgue with every intention of having a serious discussion of the possibility of them testing the waters with the two of them together. She had realised that whatever feelings towards Ravi she had, they weren’t going away. She liked him. A lot. She’d planned what the conversation was going to cover; testing things out, seeing how things went, seeing if they could still work together, telling Peyton and Major. There was a lot to look at, and Liv was willing to have that conversation. She was willing to go for it.

And yet now, looking at Ravi now, something clicked in Liv’s brain. Ravi was staring at her, his eyes bright, his hair that beautiful raven colour, his cheeks a little pink, possibly from embarrassment.

So handsome.

So human.

No matter what other complications Liv knew they would be facing, this was the one she’d been avoiding thinking about. Looking at him now, Liv tried to imagine Ravi with white hair and a white beard. She tried to picture his skin drained of life, his eyes void of that sparkle. Ravi was the sweetest and kindest soul she knew, the idea of him having to eat human brains because of her was something that tore at her chest. Ravi was fine with Liv eating brains, but that didn’t mean he could do it. Watching Ravi see visions of death and horror like Liv saw on a regular basis, that would be heart breaking. He was a strong person, but Liv knew Ravi was also so caring. She’d developed a sort of misconnection with her brains, they were food that lead to weird visions. She didn’t think Ravi was capable of that. Every bite he took, he’d feel like he was stealing memories from somebody. He’d be thinking about how unfair it was that other people had to die of things that wouldn’t even scratch a zombie.

To think that with a little scratch, Liv could do that to Ravi, it was almost too much for her to bear. They wouldn’t be able to hold hands, she could scratch him by accident. Sleeping in the same bed had the same problem. Just being close to him, sitting next to him, brushing a eyelash from his cheek, was putting him at risk. Sex was off the table. Most forms of intimacy would be. The slightest miscalculation and Ravi would be a member of the ever-growing zombie population. Ravi could end up resenting her for turning him and she would lose him. Or he could resent her for not being able to be physically intimate with him in any way and they could break up and she would lose him. He’d never be happy with what she could provide him now. She’d never want him to miss out on a normal, happy relationship. Ravi deserved every happiness in the world.

And dating Liv wouldn’t provide that.

If they went down this road now, Liv could only see it ending badly. Ravi may never be able to produce another cure, and then what? They’d always be like this. With no tainted utopium, the other cure missing and Ravi seemingly further away than ever, it was looking like Liv was going to be on the zombie train until the last stop.

How could she ask her friend, somebody she cared so deeply about to put up with that? How could she do this knowing that doing so put her best friend in danger? Ravi would say he would be willing to accept the risk but Liv knew that would be him trying to be positive like he always was.

“We should talk.” Ravi agreed, bringing the world back into focus again. Liv knew what she had to do. Ravi would never accept her reasoning though. The man was too kind for his own good. “I... I don’t regret kissing you. I meant what I said.”

Liv’s mouth went dry as she tried to clear her throat. ea

Hearing that made everything she was about to say so much harder. She longed to assure him she didn’t regret it either. That she appreciated what he’d said and that the kiss had been amazing. She longed to find out if that meant Ravi liked her too. But she knew what she had to say.

“I know this past week has been weird. We’ve been dealing with a lot of complicated stuff and I think… that kiss was just a part of that. It happened, but it won’t happen again and we can hopefully go back to how things were before.” Liv attempted to keep her voice calm and steady. This next part was going to crush her. “I don’t think of you in _that_ way and kissing you just confirmed that. We’re better as friends, and I like working with you, but we could never have anything more.” Liv could feel her stomach twisting itself into knots. It was difficult, she had to look as Ravi processed what she was saying. Part of her kind of hoped Ravi wasn’t interested, that he was just trying to save her feelings. Part of her hoped Ravi felt the same way about her, but that meant what she was saying wasn’t nice at all.

“You mean that?”

Liv nodded. “I do. I appreciate what you said but the kiss was unnecessary. We’re friends and that’s how I think it should stay.”

“That makes sense.” Ravi said and Liv tried to get a read on him. Nothing. If he was upset, he was hiding it well. “I mean, I don’t regret what I did, but I agree it shouldn’t happen again. Glad we’re on the same page.”

“Yeah, I thought we would be. I think we both got a little swept up in the moment and didn’t think things over.”

“Agreed.”

“So, we’re good?”

“Of course.” Ravi looked up at the clock. “Wow, time really flies.”

Liv looked up and saw it was past when they were supposed to be there. She moved and grabbed her stuff, her mind desperately trying to think of something to say. She wanted to take it all back. To talk everything over and come up with some kind of solution, but she knew this was the only one. Ravi was safe and would be fine, and that was all that was important.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” Ravi said, a little colder than she was hoping for.

“Bye Ravi.” Liv nodded politely and exited the morgue as fast as she could, knowing the more time she spent in there, the more she’d want to take everything back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, if you haven't already noticed I've changed the name for this fic! I've never really been great with names, so I wanted one that better reflected the story, plus I love puns! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, if you did please let me know :)


	6. Chapter 6

Ravi was left standing in the morgue, still feeling like somebody had punched out all the air in his lungs. It was his time to go home too, but somehow going home and most likely seeing the man Liv had been madly in love with once upon a time didn’t strike Ravi as being a fun time. So, that was that. Liv didn’t like him. End of story.

He sat down at his desk, slumped down and sighed. He let his mind wonder to the past week, everything that had happened and everything that he thought he’d been seeing with Liv. She must think he was such an idiot. Every little graze of her hand, every little smile, the whole time she was probably thinking Ravi was being weird. Ravi felt an uncomfortable knot in his stomach. He figured he was probably going to feel embarrassed for a while, if not forever. He was normally so careful. He wasn’t great putting himself out there, he was normally overly cautious if it was a friend. _Maybe you let your imagination run wild_ , he thought to himself.

After a while, he decided it was time to face the music and head on home. Although there might have been space, Ravi didn’t fancy a night sleeping in the morgue. He collected his things, put in his headphones and journeyed home.

Just as Ravi walked through the door and threw his keys into the usual bowl, Major came around the corner.

“Hey man!” Major chirped.

“Hey.” Ravi replied which as much enthusiasm as he could muster. Not enough to be convincing.

“Rough day?” Major tilted his head to the side and gave Ravi a sympathetic look.

“You could say that.” Ravi nodded, coming in and sitting on the couch. Major came and sat near him.

“That sucks. Want to talk?” Ravi looked and Major and got the urge to laugh. Yes, he absolutely wanted to talk to Major about kissing his ex-fiancée. That seemed like a swell idea.

“Thanks, but I’m alright. I’ll get over it. I just need to relax and forget today ever happened.” Ravi leaned his head back, only for his phone to start buzzing. He sighed. Reaching for it, he saw Clive’s name flash up on his screen. He answered the call.

“Hey Ravi. I’ve got a body, and I need some assistance.”

“Isn’t somebody else on call?” Ravi wouldn’t usually protest, but he just wanted today to end.

“They’re out sick. I’ll text you the address. We really need your help, it’s a weird one.” Ravi felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach.

“Does that mean…?” Ravi began.

“Liv’s already on her way. I’ll see you soon.” Ravi hung up. Major gave him a pat on the shoulder as Ravi grabbed his bag and keys without saying a word. The grimace on his face said it all.

__

Liv waited for Ravi outside of the address they were given. It was some creepy old abounded warehouse, it looked disgusting. Although her curiosity was pulling her inside, she stayed put. This is what she would normally do, and she had promised herself she would act as normal as possible. That was the only way to move past this, and that’s what both her and Ravi needed. She saw him approaching and smiled, hoping for his normal cheery self to be greeting her. He didn’t look cheery.

“Hi.” She said, trying to perk up her voice as best as she could.

“Hi, what do we have?”

“I’m not sure, I was waiting for you.” Liv tried to see if this registered any sort of reaction with him. It didn’t. She sunk down a little with her body. She was expecting Ravi to at least pretend to be okay, but he wasn’t. He wasn’t acting mad either, or anything. It was more infuriating that she wanted to admit.

“Oh. Thanks.” Ravi tried to act a little nicer, but it was difficult. Every time he looked at her he was just reminded of what an idiot he’d been recently and how much he’d gotten his hopes up. And how much he liked her.

“Do you want to go inside?”

“Yeah, suppose so. Unless you want to do a runner. On the count of three?” Ravi chuckled and Liv was glad to hear it. They ventured inside and Liv didn’t like to admit it, but she was a little freaked out. This place was creepy, and that was coming from a zombie.

They could see the lights and commotion coming from the police on scene. Clive waved them over and the two of them braced themselves for a body. It was there, lying on his side with his throat slit. Blood was everywhere, and there were footprints near the body that lead away for a little while. No weapon that Liv could see. There were books and recording equipment lying out. There was a bag of coarse salt, and some other weird stuff that Liv couldn’t get a good enough look at. Ravi put some gloves on and leaned down.

“His friend called it in. His name’s Shaun, 26.” Clive explained. “The two were here together, Ryan the friend left to grab something out of his car, came back and found him like this. Those are his footprints. The area has been looked over, there’s no sign of a murder weapon and other than on his shoes, there’s no blood on Ryan.”

“Did Ryan see who did it?” Ravi asked.

“No, but he’s got a theory.” Clive said, clearly exasperated.

“And?” Liv asked.

“Ghosts.” Clive said, no hint of sarcasm in his voice. “That’s what they were doing here. They have a Facebook page where they post videos of themselves searching for ghosts. Ryan’s claiming they pissed the ‘spirits’ off, and they killed Shaun.”

“I’ve seen these guys, they’re a total laughing stock.” Ravi winced and looked down at the body. “No offense mate.”

“Do they have footage of the murder?” Liv asked, seeing the recording equipment.

“Not much. Nobody talks, you can hear a thud. The camera was facing away from anything. All you see is poor Ryan finding his friend and running away.” Clive shrugs. “At least that clears him of any charges. I think we’re going to need a hand on this Liv. You too Ravi if you’re familiar with them.”

“Can it wait until morning?” Liv asked.

“Probably best to do it now, this place is pretty open, we need to get the body moved so the public don’t see anything and then I thought you could come look around the site for anything to trigger a vision. Is that alright?” Liv stole a glance at Ravi who would be forced to spend the night in her company if she said yes. Then again, she couldn’t exactly say no to Clive, this was his job.

“Okay, sure.” Liv was hungry anyway, and a guy who believed in ghosts didn’t seem like the worst brain to eat.

“Great, Ravi have you got everything you need?” Ravi was taking some notes about everything he saw, but he nodded. “You go with Liv then, we’ll get the body with you an hour and you can let me know when you’re ready to come back and do some exploring.” Ravi stood up, removing his gloves and placing them in a small bag to the side of Clive. He gave Liv a small smile. This morning he would have been over the moon to spend the rest of the night in Liv’s company. Now? He would rather be face to face with a ghost.

“Want to grab a coffee on the way back? We’re going to need the caffeine.” Liv pointed out. Even if she couldn’t really taste it, caffeine did affect her. She needed a lot of it, but it wasn’t so bad. Buying coffee made her feel just like an ordinary human again. It had always been part of her routine when she’d been training to be a doctor.

“If you’re buying.” Ravi joked, as they headed out the door.

“Did that place give you the creeps?” Liv asked as they started to walk to the subway station.

“Not at all. If you gave the place a good scrub, threw up some bright curtains and removed the dead body, I’d move in there.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.” Ravi laughed at himself, then cleared his throat when he realised Liv wasn’t laughing alone. “No, it didn’t. Did it creep you out? Don’t tell me you believe in ghosts.”

“You say to a zombie.” Liv pointed out, lowering her voice.

“Ghosts are different. Zombieism is caused by biochemical changes in the human body, it’s a virus. It’s science. I’ve not seen the empirical evidence for ghosts, so they’re not real.”

“That’s true I guess.” The two settled into a silence, both struggling to think of what to say. Neither one spoke much until they reached the other subway station.

“So I guess we’ll-“ Liv was cut off.

“I didn’t tell Major that we kissed!” Ravi blurted out before he could stop himself. “Again.” He added sheepishly. Liv seemed a little taken aback by this sudden exclamation but she soon came around.

“Did you want to tell him?”

“No. Yes. Maybe. I don’t like to be dishonest. But I don’t want to hurt him.”

“Hearing about it wouldn’t hurt him.” Liv pointed out. Hearing about it again hurt Liv though. A nice reminder of her impossible situation.

“I don’t want him to feel like I went behind his back. I’ve never talked to him about you in a way that might suggest I’d kiss you.” Ravi explained as best as he could.

Ravi didn’t tell her one of the reasons he was worried about telling Major. He was convinced that if he knew, Major would get jealous and declare that he still had feelings for Liv. And if Liv wasn’t telling the truth before, then maybe they would get back together. Ravi knew he had no right to be, but he would be jealous. The thought of the two of them back together in general was rough, the idea of them getting back together because of Ravi? Ouch.

“You didn’t? I mean of course you didn’t.” Liv shook her head.

“It’s not like I engage in a lot of traditional ‘guy talk’. I wouldn’t talk about you like that. It’s objectification. Most of Major and my conversations about you are about you and him. I always tell him what he wants to hear. That’s what a good friend does when it’s about a girl.”

“Thank you for that. I always appreciated you being Major’s friend, considering I basically forced you to move in with him.”

“No problem, you know I’d do anything for you.” Ravi paused, uncomfortable. That was something he’d have no problem saying a few weeks ago, but now it sounded overly romantic. Like a grand gesture of love.

“I know. Thank you, Ravi.” The pair stopped on the sidewalk down the street from the subway stop. Liv looked up at him in the streetlight and looked up at this guy that she’d never really seen before. A new Ravi. Amazing. Handsome. And a person who would do anything for her, despite how much he’d already done for her. Sure, she’d seen those things before, but never in such a personal way.

Something had shifted in Liv now. It was as if they’d been a barrier between how she viewed Ravi, and it had been lifted. But now all she could see was this perfect guy who gave her butterflies and made her laugh harder than she ever thought was possible. She couldn’t go back to see her dorky boss who loved science and was her buddy. It made it hard to look at him, and yet Liv couldn’t bring herself to look away. She could see Ravi properly now, exactly how he looked and how he was. She didn’t want to lose that image, it filled her chest with warmth. But it also was creating a lot of problems for her.

“Ravi…” She began to say but couldn’t think of something to end the sentence. What could she possibly say right now? Ravi reached his hand out and brushed some hair from her cheek that the wind had pushed onto her face. He tucked it behind her ear and let his thumb rest lightly on her cheek, his fingers just touching her neck. Cars zoomed past and people walked by, but neither of them noticed anything beyond the other person.

Ravi knew Liv must be feeling this too. This longing. It couldn’t be one sided, he told himself, that wasn’t possible. She wasn’t moving away. She didn’t seem to mind this closeness, in fact she seemed to like it. Her face was gentle, her eyes hadn’t strayed from his. “Tell me you don’t feel this Liv.” He said quietly, and for the first time, Liv let her eyes fall to her floor.

“Feel what?” She asked. Of course she knew what he was referring to, but she couldn’t do this. It was for Ravi’s own good.

“ _This_. Whatever _this_ is between us. I know you feel it, you kissed me back. That wasn’t just because you were confused. I could tell.” Liv started to walk in the direction they’d been heading in before. Ravi’s voice was strained, and Liv could feel her eyes string from tears. She wasn’t much a crier but she hated hurting the people close to her. Ravi followed close behind, and he tried to reach out to touch her arm but she started to hasten so he couldn’t. “Don’t ignore me Liv, I need you to talk to me!”

“I said everything I had to say before. There’s nothing here Ravi, it’s all in your head!” She kept her voice as quiet as she could, but she needed to say this. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed to hurt him. He wasn’t confused, but that didn’t mean he knew what he wanted. He thought he wanted to be with her, but Liv could see how this was going to play out. Nothing could happen between them, he’d get impatient and he’d move on to a human. Somebody he could share his life with. And where did that leave Liv? Forgotten in the morgue along with all the other dead people. Without her best friend. Without the first person who ever knew this new Liv. Without the person she couldn’t live without.

 Liv couldn’t offer him normality, she couldn’t even offer him a real relationship with cuddling and kissing and sex.

“It’s not in my head Liv. We have something, I can feel it. I…I _like_ you.” Ravi didn’t know how else to say what he was feeling. “I don’t regret kissing you, I don’t regret anything. I want to do it again. I want a chance to prove to you that this is something. That something could happen between us.”

“This is nothing!” Liv was yelling now. She stopped moving away and turned to face himself. He was only a foot or so away. “This isn’t anything, it was a stupid kiss that didn’t mean anything!”

“Don’t say that, I know you don’t mean it.” Ravi shook his head.

“I do! Nothing is going to happen. We’re friends, nothing more. Stop fooling yourself Ravi.” Liv took a deep breath. “It’s pathetic.” She could see the pain register in Ravi’s face for a moment before it was overcome with anger.

“You think I’m pathetic?”

“That’s not what I said.” Her voice broke as she felt tears trying to escape her eyes. She blinked quickly, trying to stop them. She couldn’t let herself break down, she’d fall apart and admit everything she was stopping herself from saying.

“That’s what you meant.” Ravi sounded really hurt and it took everything Liv had not to go over and tell him it didn’t mean anything.

“I’m sorry.” Liv said. It was all she could say, and it wasn’t the apology she wanted to give right now. But it was the best she could do.

Ravi heard his phone buzz and picked it up, looking away from Liv who was desperately trying to think of a way to make this better. To go back to a week ago, when everything was perfect.

“Yeah. Of course. I’ll tell her.” Ravi said down the phone and then hung up. He turned to Liv. “That was Clive. The body is back at the morgue, you go. I’m going back to the crime scene. Just give him a look over, take some pictures, eat and I’ll do the full autopsy tomorrow.” Without saying goodbye, Ravi went back in the direction of the subway. Liv finally let her cry, burying her hands in her face as she considered the reality that she might have just lost the best friend she’d ever had. Nobody on the street stopped to ask her if she was alright. Nobody even gave her a second glance. Liv knew there was nobody she could talk to about this, she was alone. For the first time in a long time, she felt hopeless.


	7. Chapter 7

A fresh brain certainly tasted better, Liv considered as she walked back to the crime scene. It tasted like guilt though. Liv realised that eating brains that had been sitting in the morgue for a while had taken away her sense of death. They were bodies to her now, not people who had just died. Somehow eating a brain that had just passed away felt more like she was taking a life, which in some ways she figured she was. Still, thinking about brains and trying to search this one for the last memories it could remember was a nice distraction from Ravi. It had been a couple of hours since they’d had their fight in the street and Liv was hoping that perhaps she’d get a chance to talk to him when she saw him again without it being so hard. They had to move past this. Liv had said goodbye to a lot of things as a zombie; a job, food, a decent night’s sleep. She couldn’t stand to lose Ravi now, not when he was one of the best things that had come from her being a zombie.

“Welcome back Moore.” Clive said as Liv entered the building. She immediately felt a shiver down her shine walking into the place again. Her eyes darted around the room and landed on Ravi. He wasn’t looking in her direction. She almost wished he would, just so she could see him, even though she knew that was selfish of her. “I take it you’ve eaten?”

“I have. Not seeing anything yet though.”

“Well, wander around. Get a feel of the place. Maybe hurry up, Ravi has been dying to leave this place ever since he got back. That boy clearly needs some sleep.” Liv half-heartedly smiled at Clive then made a beeline for Ravi. He finally turned to face her as she got close.

“Ravi, I want to talk to you.”

“Don’t worry about. I was being an idiot Liv, I’m sorry.” Ravi genuinely seemed sorry, and this threw Liv off. Why wasn’t he angry? Why wasn’t he yelling? She’d been a jerk.

“No! Don’t be sorry, I’m the one that’s sorry. I shouldn’t have been so rude. I was awful to you, and I regret it.”

“You were very clear before. I shouldn’t have persisted with anything. You’re right, we’re so good as friends and I’ll just have to accept that.” Liv couldn’t believe how sweet he was being right now, after what she has said. “I’m sorry you had to repeat yourself, it just took me a second to wrap my head around this situation. But now I understand and I won’t bother you about it again.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Liv really meant that, she’d come in with a big speech planned about how sorry she was, and how insensitive she’d been. “I’m sorry if I was rude, thank you for understanding.” Ravi surprised her even more by reaching down and giving her a quick hug. She froze for a moment, then let her arms reach up and wrap around him for a second.

“Can you save that for after we’ve left the crime scene?” Clive called out to them and they got on with their work. Liv tried to allow herself to get lost in her surroundings but every time she did, she’d hear something and jump out of her skin. Her kept thinking she was seeing things in the corner of her eye. It was making her so nervous she couldn’t focus. Clive and Ravi talked about how the crime scene was set up, who could have entered and who might have had motive. After speaking with the friend, they had a little bit of an idea about the situation.

After an hour, Clive decided to call it quits. Liv wasn’t getting anything from the scene and it was so late now he doubted she would. They all headed home, and Ravi and Liv said a quick goodbye when they went their separate ways. Nothing out of the ordinary.

All the way home, Liv had a feeling she was being followed. There was just something that felt off. The streets seemed too dark, too quiet. Everybody that passed her seemed to be walking a little too slowly. She kept thinking she saw things in the glass windows of shops or down the street where her eyes wouldn’t quite focus. Her heart was beating quickly, which was odd for a zombie, and she was working hard not to turn into full on zombie mode because she was feeling like she needed to be defensive.

She did the only thing she could think of to calm herself down. She called Ravi. She didn’t want to, but it was what she would normally do and she needed to feel normal right now.

“Liv? What’s wrong?” Ravi’s voice sounded gruff. She realised he was probably home right now, she may have even woken him up. He seemed exhausted, he probably when straight home and crashed.

“Why would you think something is wrong? Why, is something wrong?” Liv could hear herself and she sounded insane.

“You called me in the middle of the night, what’s up with you? Is the brain doing something?”

“Yes. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m overly paranoid, I can’t focus. I’m near going into zombie mode; every sound and sight is making me feel like I’m being watched or I’m about to be attacked. I don’t know what to do, I can’t calm down.” It came out like a blur of nonsense she was talking so quickly. Luckily, Ravi understand the most of it.

“Where are you?” She could hear rustling on the other side of the phone.

“Is something wrong? Why can I hear movement?”

“Relax, I’m putting on a coat. I’ll come find you, I’ve got some anti-anxiety meds somewhere.”

“I’m…I’m outside of my building but I can’t go up. There’s going to be something waiting for me up there, I can feel it.” Liv’s voice was shaking. She couldn’t believe after everything that had happened she had turned into such a wreck and was relying on Ravi to help her. She hated herself right now, this wasn’t fair for him. She was screwing with his head and messing up everything. “You don’t have to come, I can manage.”

“Stay put. Stay calm.” Ravi demanded, then hung up the phone. Somehow, the fact that he wasn’t freaking out, helped her.

As Ravi grabbed his keys and headed out the door, he wondered what the hell he was doing. He knew he should help Liv, but he also knew that seeing her was going to be difficult. He was still struggling to understand everything that had happened today. He kept coming up with the conclusion that Liv didn’t like him, but he couldn’t accept that, what with everything that had happened between the two of them. Ravi wasn’t one to persist with women. He’d had plenty of experience being turned down before, and he’d never struggled to accept that. It was a part of life, he got it. But with Liv it just didn’t feel like previous times. Maybe it was because they were such close friends, he couldn’t distinguish between that and having a romantic connection.

Besides, now he’d had time to think about it, he realised that even if he did have romantic feelings for Liv, he was right before, acting on them was wrong. He couldn’t believe that he’d slipped up, being her boss meant it was so unethical. He was worried he’d been taken advantage of his position by kissing Liv earlier. Although their relationship wasn’t exactly employer-employee, Ravi still considered it wrong to date his colleagues.

Liv rejecting him was a blessing in disguise. Now, nothing would change and he was happy with that. He loved the relationship he had with Liv, and that wasn’t something he would give up, ever. When Ravi considered his past romantic relationships, ones without the dozens of complications he had with Liv, he figured it was for the best nothing would happen between them. His track record would suggest it wouldn’t end well.

As Ravi approached Liv’s street, he wondered how he should act. Should he simply drop off the medication and then leave? Should he stay and offer to keep her calm? Was that even a good idea? Ravi had been there before when brains had taken over and it almost always ended badly for Ravi, whether that was him getting kissed or him almost dying because he’d dropped into a pit with a brain hungry zombie.

Then he caught sight of her.

Ravi immediately knew that he’d do whatever he could to help her.

She looked his way and smiled. Ravi felt fluttering in his stomach and he tried to suppress it. _‘Look at how happy she is to see you’_ his brain told him and he shook the thought out. She was clearly just grateful to see a friend. She’s afraid.

“Ravi! Thank you for coming!” She rushed to meet him and Ravi could see she was distressed. She looked nervous, she was glancing all around her and over his shoulder. She was tensed up and was taking deep breathes whenever she could. Ravi reached into his bag, taking out a water bottle and some anti-anxiety meds he got shortly after the whole Major possibly being a murderer thing. He kept them lying around in case he started to feel bad again.

“Take two and then we’ll get you up to your apartment to Peyton.”

“She’s not here tonight. She’s gone to visit her parents, that’s partly why I’m so worried. I don’t like sleeping in an empty apartment.” Liv accepted the medication, thanking him.

“Well…” Ravi considered his options. “I’ll sleep on your couch then. If that’s alright.”

“Are you sure? Would you mind?”

“No, it’s fine. We’ve only got a few hours until we need to be at work anyway, it makes no sense for me to head back home and leave you.”

“Are you sure it’ll be okay after…earlier?” Liv needed to make sure.

“I’m sleeping on your couch, not in your bed.” Ravi joked. Liv swore that if she could blush she’d resemble a beetroot right now. “Of course, friends sleep over.”

Liv briefly let her mind slip into Ravi being in the same bed as her. Kisses…skin…heat. It all flashed before her eyes before she threw the thoughts out. She pictured herself alone, in her bed. Eyes closed. Then out of nowhere, in a vision, a black figure started clawing at her. Liv shrieked out loud, in real life, and Ravi grabbed her arm.

“What? What? Are you alright?” He sounded frantic as Liv tried to gain some perspective. She was fine. Nothing was going to get her.

“I’m sorry, I’m fine. We should get inside, you must be exhausted.” As if he was expected to, Ravi yawned and agreed.

Liv knew this brain was going to be a bitch already. Apparently, she’d eaten the brains of the world’s most anxious ghost hunter. Liv had never been a big believer in any of that supernatural crap, but this guy was so convinced by it he was certain it would be the death of him. And he wasn’t wrong.

The two headed up the stairs to Liv’s place, with Ravi’s hand placed lightly on her shoulder. Whenever Liv paused or started to panic, he squeezed her shoulder and it calmed her down. Liv told herself it was the medication, but she knew it was Ravi. He’d saved her life a few times, and she knew he wouldn’t let anything hurt her.

Funny, she thought, replying on a human to save a zombie from a ghost.

When they got up into the apartment the two did a quick check. Liv pointed out places where something could hide and together they made sure nothing was there. Liv fetched Ravi blankets and a spare pillow after Ravi refused to stay in Peyton’s bed, claiming it would be ‘too weird’. Liv got dressed into her nightwear, then went out into the living room to make sure that Ravi was settled. He was under a blanket, having changed into just his boxers and a t-shirt of Major’s that Liv had lying around. Ravi tried not to let that get to him too much.

“Comfy?” Liv asked, standing in the kitchen, getting a glass of water.

“You should go to bed.” Ravi knew she was putting it off. She scoffed and took the glass of water over to him, placing it on the table. He thanked her and she hovered.

“You need some sleep.” Ravi continued. She didn’t need much, but she did need some.

“I know, I just feel bad that you have to sleep here.” Ravi sat up and Liv sat down next to him.

“I’ve done it many times before.” He pointed out.

“Ravi, do you hate me? After everything I’ve put you through?” Liv asked. She looked at him directly, trying to figure out if he was lying.

“No.” Ravi said, the certainness in his voice was clear.

“I don’t mean after today. Or even after the past few weeks. I mean after the past few years. Surely after everything I’ve made you a part of, there’s some part of you that hates me?”

“I think this is your anxiety talking.”

“Answer the question Ravi.” Her eyes didn’t leave him as his brows lowered and he looked at her with a sincere face.

“I could never hate you.” He told her. “Never. You’ve given me everything. A house with a roommate who is also a great friend. A great group of friends. A job I’m proud of and happy to work because I know I help people in more ways that most morticians get to. Not that morticians aren’t the rock stars of the hospital, we both know they are.” Liv chuckled. “Without you I’d be that bearded weirdo that occasionally came to collect a dead body and spent his days miserable in his room because his flatmate was a nightmare.”

“I think you give me too much credit.” Liv said, touched by his comments.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’d still be a handsome, tall doctor with a great accent.” This made Liv smile, he was joking, but he wasn’t wrong. “You’ve just made my life a lot more adventurous. Obviously, I’d have loved to avoid all the near-death situations that I’ve been through in the last few years, but hey, nobody’s life is ever perfect.”

 “Thank you, Ravi.” Liv said, resting her head very gently on the back of the couch. She eyes fluttered closed. “That means a lot coming from you.”

Liv was asleep within a minute or two. Ravi smiled, glancing over at her as she breathed slowly. He considered waking her so she could move to the bed but wasn’t sure if that would panic her too much.

“Liv?” He whispered and she stirred a little, moving her head to rest on his shoulder. Ravi’s insides fluttered. Without moving too much, he stretched out the blanket Liv had given him so it covered her as well. He closed his eyes, trying not to feel good about the situation. It was accidental, Liv was asleep and unaware of where she was resting her head. Still, Ravi couldn’t help but feel content with what was happening. It was nice to rest with Liv next to him. Within a few minutes, Ravi was asleep too.


	8. Chapter 8

Liv woke up lying on her side, tangled up in both a blanket and a Ravi. During the night, the two had managed to move to their sides so Ravi was lying behind Liv and had his arm draped over her. Liv had wrapped her own arms around one of Ravi’s, holding him tightly to her body. He felt warm on her back. And that wasn’t the only thing she could feel on her back. It seemed as though the morning had woken one part of Ravi up before it had woken the rest of him up.

Liv knew she should slide out off the couch and wake Ravi, but she didn’t have it in her. She took the opportunity to nestle back a little, bringing him closer and resting her head against his chest. Just a few more minutes, she told herself. She closed her eyes and enjoying the warmth of the morning and the light brushes of Ravi’s chest against her spine when he breathed in and out. She could feel his heartbeat in his chest, clear and much quicker than her own. He was just so very human.

Liv thought back and realised it had been a while since she’d experienced this kind of physical contact. Major wasn’t much of a snuggler.  Not because he didn’t like it, but because he never stayed still for long enough. When he woke up, he was up, usually off for a run or to the gym. They rarely went to sleep at the same time, what with Liv working all kinds of hours at the hospital when they were engaged and before that Liv was usually studying much later than Major’s bedtime. When their time did overlap in the bed, it usually was reserved for sex.

Every guy she had dated since being a zombie didn’t do this sort of thing. Or at least, when they had, it had never quite felt like this. Liv always knew deep down, any relationship she had when she was a zombie wouldn’t last. She wanted them too, obviously, but it wasn’t difficult to figure out the reason she was with those guys was because they had something in common. They were dead. And when you’re dead, you have limited options. Somehow, because Liv always considered her zombie-ness to be impermanent, the men always became a part of that idea. She felt guilty, because she’d either loved them or really cared about them, but she couldn’t deny that was how she felt. And she always was aware that the feeling was mutual.

Liv wondered as to if Ravi had been the one to wake up first, would he have done this?

She didn’t realise he too was awake and thinking the same thing.

Ravi had felt Liv move a little closer to him and he couldn’t stop thinking about how nearly perfect this all was. What he would give for the two of them to be in a bed, all cuddled up, together. What he would give for them to wake up like this every day.

Ravi pictured their mornings together. They’d wake up like this, cuddle for a while until they’d have to get up. Ravi would get up, go put the coffee pot on. They’d sit, drink coffee and maybe eat some breakfast if they’d woken up early enough. They’d commute to work, maybe reading books side by side on the subway. Maybe Ravi would listen to one of his dorky podcasts. But Liv wouldn’t mind that he had headphones in, because she’d steal one of the buds and listen in too, even if it wasn’t her kind of thing. They could go to work together, Liv would hum around the office like she did when she was happy and Ravi could try and join in, even though he was hopeless at saying in tune. He’d make her a coffee and kiss her on the cheek as she cut open some guy’s chest, and she’d call him gross but he wouldn’t mind because he’d know she was kidding. Liv could spend her evening out with Peyton while Ravi could spend his with Major, or they could all eat dinner together and hang out. And then at the end of the day, Ravi could return to cuddling up with Liv in bed. Maybe they’d argue about who had to turn the light out because they’re both already too warm in bed and they forgot. And eventually Ravi would volunteer but he’d take the whole blanket with him to piss Liv off.  

Ravi could imagine it perfectly. And that’s when it hit him.

He was madly, undeniably, and irrefutably in love with Liv.

He was. He’d never been happier just picturing a person in his life before. Hell, he’d rarely been able to picture his life with anybody. Maybe occasionally he’d caught himself imagining what his future would look like with a girl, but never seriously. And never in such a way as he just did. It was so domestic, and it didn’t seem boring. He couldn’t imagine ever being bored with Liv, nothing he did with her was dull. He could be washing dishes at work with Liv talking next to him and he’d laugh so much his sides would hurt. He could, and had, spent hours in silence with Liv at the morgue, and didn’t care at all. He just liked that she was there with him.

Ravi was in love with Liv and he couldn’t believe he was just figuring it out now. He loved everything about her. Her strength, her wisdom, her sense of humour, her smile, her everything. Everything was better when she was around. She made Ravi happy, and she made him better. She was his best friend.

And suddenly it was like everything Ravi had been feeling for the past few weeks made sense. No wonder he wasn’t taking this rejection sitting down.

Ravi knew there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t change Liv’s mind, and he wouldn’t want to. She’d made her choice, she knew what she wanted. And it wasn’t Ravi. All he could do was enjoy this moment and hope that his feelings would diminish over time.

It dawned on Ravi that he hadn’t checked the time, just as his phone started to ring. Liv jumped up, covering herself with the blanket, despite the fact she was still wearing her pyjamas that Ravi had seen her in last night. Ravi picked up the phone.

“Why is the morgue empty?” Clive’s voice demanded to know.

“Good morning to you too sunshine.” Ravi retorted. He needed some coffee.

“I’m serious.”

“It’s not empty.” Ravi pointed out. “There were at least five bodies in there last time I counted.”

“This isn’t funny Ravi. Where are you? Liv isn’t here either. Have you heard from her?”

“She’s with me already. We’ll be there as soon as we’ve dealt with the brain situation.”

“Alright. Just hurry up.” With that, Clive hung up the phone. Liv looked confused.

“Brain situation? What situation? Is something wrong?” Liv was panicking, her eyes frantically scanning the room for a problem. Looking at Ravi to check he was okay.

“I just figured you’d need some medication again.” She nodded and thanked him.

“Thank you… for last night by the way.” Liv said after she’d swallowed the pills. “I really appreciate you coming over and helping me so much.”

“Your welcome. Any time.” Ravi rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to say.

“Sorry for, um, falling asleep on you.” Liv added.

“I was too tired to notice.” Ravi lied.

“I must have been so out of it.” Liv joked. In reality, she wasn’t sure if that was true, or if she’d really just been looking for an excuse to get closer to Ravi. She hoped she was just tired. If she was being truthful, she knew it was most likely for the second reason.

Liv was thankful that Ravi didn’t seem to mind too much. He’d been tired too, maybe he’d not even thought about their sleeping arrangement.

“If you need me to sleep over again at any point, you know, to make you feel less paranoid, you know I will. I think your couch is probably more comfortable than my bed.” He joked.

“Thank you…I’ll see. Peyton is out of town for a few days. Maybe I’ll be worried tonight.” Liv again wasn’t sure if the second part was truthful, but she couldn’t help herself.

They headed to work and Ravi tried to come to terms with this morning’s realization. If he told her, he’d be the jackass who couldn’t leave things alone. If he didn’t, it would eat him up. But he’d rather that than bothering Liv again.

He’d figure something out, he told himself. Even if that was trying to move on and forget about his feelings, he’d know what he’d have to do. Eventually.

Today, he thought, he would simply enjoy spending time with the woman he was in love with. And he wouldn’t think about the complications, or the issues, or anything else. He intended to spend the day taking in every single thing about Liv. He wanted to salvage the feeling of being in love, it was too good not to enjoy. When he didn’t think of anything else, he could just appreciate the feeling of butterflies in his stomach, and the sensation of his heart fluttering around her. He would focus on that, and try to forget everything else. Because he knew it couldn’t last forever, but he wanted it to, so he’d have to settle for appreciating it while it was still possible. When it wasn’t tainted with the feelings of guilt and confusion that made his fluttering heart ache.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is a little short, but I wanted to really take the time to write Ravi coming to terms with his feelings. I hope it wasn't too soppy! As always, thanks for reading! It really means a lot to me that you do <3


	9. Chapter 9

 

Clive was pacing up and down the morgue when the pair arrived. Ravi hid the bag with the half-eaten bagels he’d insisted they pick up behind his back. He had known Clive would be busy, but he was concerned that the meds would affect Liv badly if she had an empty stomach. Liv was much perkier now the pills had begun to work and she wasn’t a ball of anxiety just moving around, but Ravi was keeping a close eye on her, same as he always did when she’d eaten an intense brain.

“I know you’re tired, but we’ve got work to do.” Clive sighed, the moment he spotted them. He averted his attention solely to Liv. “Are you alright? Doc said that kid was all kinds of messed up. Hallucinations, anxiety, unable to sort reality from truth.”

“Ravi gave me some medication, it’s helping.” Liv assured him, a little touched Clive was so concerned about her.

“I got you a new body, a woman was hit with a car, no signs of anything suspicious but I asked for an autopsy because I knew you didn’t have anything else.” Clive gestured behind him to the covered body and Liv felt a wash with gratitude. And then guilt.

“The meds are working, I appreciate it Clive, but I want to help you solve this. This kid was nice, he had a family that loved him. I want his killer found.” Liv did, she hated giving up on a case. This brain was manageable, she’d survived far worse.

“Are you sure Liv?” Ravi put a hand on her arm and looked down at her with a look of concern. Liv reached up and squeezed his hand before walking over to the woman Clive had brought in. Clive kept his eyes on Ravi, narrowing them with suspicion. Ravi avoided his eyes.

“Of course. I only want to eat the brains I have to. This woman would be me being selfish, she doesn’t deserve to go through an autopsy.” Liv touched the women’s cheek. She was pale, almost as pale as Liv, but her face was peaceful. She looked more like she was sleeping, Liv couldn’t imagine taking the saw to her head for no good reason.

“Alright, I’ll contact the funeral home to come and collect her.” Clive turned to Ravi. “Can I have a word?” Liv looked at the two, detecting a little worry in Ravi’s face.

“Sure.” Ravi nodded, trying to act normal.

“Won’t be a minute Liv, then we can go and talk to the family if you’re feeling up to it.” Liv nodded, but her mind was focusing more on what the men could be talking about. Ravi followed Clive into the hallway.

“What’s up?” Ravi asked, his manner a little too casual.

“Look, it’s none of my business, but I can’t ignore that you and Liv have been real chummy lately. And then I call you this morning and you two are together and have overslept. Now you’re comforting her, and I see the way you look at her.” Ravi tried to interrupt but Clive cut him off. “And the way she looks at you. I get it, office romance, it’s fun, but don’t forget, you live with her ex. And you’re her boss. And she’s a _zombie_.” Clive lowered his voice for the last word. “I’m just saying, you could be out of a job if she files a complaint, and you could be out a home.”

“Nothing happened!” Ravi defended himself, putting his hands up into a surrender. “I went over last night to drop off the medication, she was scared so I slept on the couch. We were both out of it, we overslept. It won’t happen again.” Clive seemed satisfied with this, and stopped looking so stern.

“Well then, that’s good.” He couldn’t resist poking at it. “You like her though?” He grinned at the look on Ravi’s face. He looked mortified, because Clive knew Ravi carried a torch for Liv. It was obvious. You’d have to be completely oblivious not to see it (which he assumed was Major’s problem; not that he didn’t like the guy, but he was kind of wrapped up in his own stuff).

“I work with Liv. We’re friends.”

“That’s not a no.” Clive smirked. “Just be careful. Don’t do anything stupid.” Clive placed his hand on Ravi’s shoulder and stared him dead in the eyes. “And most importantly. Don’t come to me with your romance problems. I do not care about them.”

“And yet here you are, giving me advice.” It was Ravi’s turn to smirk. Clive rolled his eyes.

“What can I say? I’m rooting for the two of you, no matter how stupid it would be if you dated.”

“Thanks Clive.”

**

Liv and Clive were soon off to meet with Shaun’s mother. She was a nice lady, who informed them mostly of things they already knew; that Shaun had a few problems but was handling them okay. He had a hobby where he went around, filming places he believed were haunted with his friend. His mother couldn’t think of anybody who would ever want to hurt her son.

The two walked out of the house feeling like they’d hit a bit of a dead end. Liv had had no visions, and Clive had no leads.

“I guess you’ll just have to lead back to the morgue and let me know if you see anything.” Clive shrugged as he started the car. Liv was started to get a little jumpy, and wanted to go back to take some pills and relax a little in the morgue, where she was comfortable. As they began to drive, a voice came over the police radio, and Liv was thrown into a vision.

*

_“They did it!” Shaun yelled, angry as hell. “I saw them!”_

_“You’re off your medication boy, we need to get you home.” The police officer said, and then he began talking into his radio. Shaun looked around at the other police officers who were about 5 feet away, placing a blanket over a body. It was a girl, about 30, with red hair. There was a gash on her head that glistened red, and Shaun began to feel nauseous._

_“I saw it! It was real, it was Ned!”_

_“You’re seeing things. You’re upset, I understand.” The officer patted his head as if he were a child. “Accidents happen.”_

_*_

“Liv?” Clive asked and Liv came to, feeling sick herself.

“You’re gonna have to look into another incident for me Clive.” She said quietly, still holding the image of the dead body in her mind. This brain may have issues, but god, did she believe this kid had been telling the truth about what he'd seen. She was certain. 


End file.
